Columliia  SSntfacrsttg 

STUDIES  IN  CLASSICAL  PHILOLOGY 


THE   SATIRE   OF   SENECA   ON    THE 
APOTHEOSIS   OF   CLAUDIUS 


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THE  SATIRE  OF  SENECA 


ON 


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THE  APOTHEOSIS  OF  CLAUDIUS 

COMMONLY   CALLED   THE 
AnOKOAOKYNTOSIS 

A   STUDY 
BY 

ALLAN    PERLEY   BALL 


THE   COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY   PRESS 
THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY,  Agents 

LONDON:    MACMILLAN   &   CO.,   LTD. 
1902 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1902, 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped  November,  1902. 


J.  8.  Cfushinjf  &  Co.  —  Berwick  k  Smith 
Norwood  Mass.  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

Undertaken  with  a  view  to  one  of  the  require- 
ments for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  at 
Columbia  University,  this  study  of  Seneca's  Satire 
has  grown  somewhat  unexpectedly.  Its  brief  ma- 
terial, from  the  curiosity  of  its  subject  and  the 
natural  search  for  parallel  which  it  suggests,  proved 
capable  of  leading  to  a  quite  indefinite  expansion ; 
so  that  any  scheme  of  exhaustive  treatment,  such 
as  the  primary  object  of  the  work  made  appropri- 
ate, had  to  yield  for  the  most  part  to  the  pursuit 
of  more  individual  threads  of  interest. 

For  the  text,  I  have  followed  in  general  that  of 
Biicheler's  editio  minor.  The  few  changes  which 
I  have  ventured  to  make  are  of  course  particularly 
explained  in  the  notes,  in  which  attention  is  called 
also  where  any  of  the  present  readings  differ  from 
others  of  importance.  Of  the  translation  which 
follows  the  text,  there  is  only  to  say  that  the 
metrical  parts  were  so  rendered  for  the  sake  of 
reproducing,  at  least  in  its  effect  upon  the  page, 
the  original  form  of  the  Menippean  satire.  The 
metres  of  the  Latin  verses  have  been  copied  as 
nearly   as   possible,   even   to   the   dactyls,  whose 

V 

710182 


Vi  PREFACE 

ponderous  incongruity  at  certain  points  seems  to 
have  been  a  part  of  the  author's  intention. 

My  debt  to  preceding  commentators  is  naturally 
unhmited.  It  is  defined  for  particular  acknowl- 
edgment where  this  seems  fitting,  but  much  of  the 
material  of  comment  has  become  common  prop- 
erty, an  evident  result  of  the  useful  offices  of  the 
lexicon  as  a  concordance  of  examples.  My  sin- 
cerest  thanks  are  offered  to  those  who  have  helped 
me  by  suggestions.  Especially  to  Professor  Harry 
Thurston  Peck,  at  whose  proposal  the  making  of 
this  edition  of  the  Apocolocyntosis  was  begun  and 
whose  personal  interest  and  criticisms  have  been 
as  important  to  its  completion  as  his  lectures  had 
been  inspiring  to  the  motives  of  my  work,  I  am 
under  the  greatest  indebtedness.  I  wish  to  add 
special  acknowledgments  also  to  Professor  James 
Chidester  Egbert,  Jr.,  to  whom  I  owe,  as  but  one 
of  my  obligations,  appreciation  of  the  evidences 
afforded  by  Latin  epigraphy  on  the  historical  side 
of  the  present  study. 

A.  P.  BALL. 

College  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
November,  1902. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Introduction  : 

I.     Seneca's  Satire  as  an  Historical  Document    .  i 
II.     The  Question  of  Authorship  and  the  Name 

Apocolocyntosis 23 

III.  Menippean  Satire  and  its  Style      ...  58 

IV.  Literary  Parallels 74 

V.     Manuscripts 86 

VI.     Editions  and  Commentators  ....  92 

Bibliography 105 

Senecae  Apocolocyntosis,  Text     .        .        .        .113 

Translation 132 

Notes 155 

Index 247 


THE   SATIRE   OF   SENECA 


INTRODUCTION 


When  Claudius  Caesar  died,  his  official  deifica- 
tion was  punctiliously  secured  by  the  prudent  piety 
of  the  wife  and  adopted  son  who  had  been  inter- 
ested in  his  taking  off.  Among  the  solemnities 
preceding  the  sanctificatioy  came  the  laiidatio  fune- 
briSy  pronounced  by  the  young  Nero  under  the 
tutelage  of  his  mother  and  Seneca.  Tacitus  (^Amt, 
xiii.  3) tells  us  this  much  of  the  occasion:  Princeps 
exorsiis  est,  dum  antiqiiitatem  ge7ierisy  constilattis  ac 
triiimphos  maioriim  e^mmerabaty  intentus  ipse  et 
ceteri ;  liberalmm  qtwque  artitim  commemoratio  et 
nihil  regente  eo  triste  rei  publicae  ab  externis  acci- 
disse  pronis  animis  audita:  postqiiam  ad  provident- 
iam  sapie^ttiamqtte  flexit^  ne7no  risui  temperare^ 
quamqiiam  oratio  a  Seneca  composita  nmlttmt  cultus 
praeferrety  ut  ftdt  illi  viro  ingeninm  amoemcnt  et 
temp  oris  eius  aitribtcs  adcommo  datum. 

It  is  regrettable  that  we  have  not  this  imperial 
eulogy  to  read,  though  probably  its  absence  is  due 


2  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

to  no  lack  of  care  on  the  part  of  the  young  em- 
peror's famous  secretary.  More  significant,  how- 
ever, than  the  speech  was  the  laughter  with  which 
it  was  received ;  and  this,  crystallized  in  literature 
of  quite  another  sort,  we  have  among  the  works 
of  Seneca  in  the  unique  specimen  of  Menippean 
satire  variously  known  as  the  Ludus  de  Morte 
Claiidii  Caesaris,  or  the  Apocolocyntosis, 

But  before  the  question  of  its  origin  or  its  liter- 
ary classification,  it  claims  our  interest  as  a  docu- 
ment on  the  character  of  Claudius  and  his  time. 
It  is  a  burlesque  on  the  apotheosis  of  the  defunct 
emperor,  a  document  most  unofificial,  but  all  the 
more  expressive,  belonging  as  it  does  among  the 
signs  of  relieved  amusement  which  immediately 
succeeded  Claudius's  passage  to  anotheijworld.  The 
latest  event  of  which  it  indicates  knowledge  is  the 
death  of  the  freedman  Narcissus,  whose  removal 
followed  close  upon  his  master's  own.  Its  con- 
tribution of  facts  counts  for  less  than  the  impres- 
sion which  it  gives  of  the  aspect  Claudius  bore  to 
people  who  knew  him.  Nothing  that  was  written 
of  him  so  carries  us  back  to  the  mood  of  a  con- 
temporary as  does  this  skit  composed  when 
Roman  society  was  first  appreciating  Claudius, 
the  new  divinity,  and  when  a  witty  philosopher 
could,  if  he  chose,  in  a  sufificiently  enlightened 
circle  relieve  his  mind  on  the  subject  of  a  prince 
who  had  managed  to  cause  him  several  very  dreary 
and  inconvenient  years. 


^S  AN  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENT  3 

We  do  not  look,  then,  for  a  presentment  very- 
heroic.  The  dramatic  oddity  in  the  picture  of  a 
person  with  Claudius's  idiosyncrasies  limping  up  to 
the  heavenly  gate  and  applying  for  admittance  to 
the  most  select  society  of  Olympus  needed  but 
to  be  pointed  out,  and  the  writer  used  obvious  ma- 
terial. Confirmation  enough  we  find  in  the  pro- 
fessed historians,  Tacitus  {Afinales,  xi.  xii.  etc.), 
Dio  Cassius  (lib.  Ix),  and  Suetonius  (  Vit.  Clatidii\ 
Theirs  is  the  same  Claudius,  even  if  somewhat  less 
amusing  and  occasionally  more  pathetic. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  curious  and  paradoxical 
characters  of  his  time  whose  picture  we  thus  gather 
piecemeal,  the  psychological  interest  of  which  has 
been  largely  obscured  bymis  more  spectacular  suc- 
cessor. If  the  working^  of  poor  Claudius's  mind 
could  be  revealed  to  us,  it  might  prove  more  worth 
looking  at  than  Nero's ;  but  it  never  attained  ex- 
pression :  we  vainly  look  for  anything  like  the  epi- 
grammatic wit  with  which  the  other  emperor  in 
some  degree  maintains  his  character  as  an  artist. 
Nero,  indeed,  was  a  monumental  stage-struck  rascal, 
as  Caligula  is  the  time-honored  example  of  a  head 
turned  by  unlimited  license ;  Claudius  was  a  com- 
plex medley.  He  is  entitled  to  a  far  more  adequate 
characterization  than  he  ever  got.  Conspicuously 
the  victim  of  the  "two  men  warring  in  his  mem- 
bers," he  had  good  intentions  enough  certainly  to 
pave  his  way  to  Olympus ;  but  his  weakness  was 
too  plain,  and  the  ancients  were  inclined  simply  to 


4  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

pass  contemptuously  by  such  a  morally  pathological 
case,  with  the  broadest  of  generahzations. 

Yet  one  can  scarcely  read  certain  chapters  in 
Suetonius  and  Tacitus  without  doubting  whether  [ 
Claudius  was  an  incompetent  meddler  on  the  throne 
or  whether  he  was  an  enlightened  statesman.  In 
fact,  he  was  a  little  of  each.  The  constant  victim  of 
his  timid  dependence  upon  those  whom  he  ought 
simply  to  have  employed,  he  yet  displayed  what 
amounted  to  temerity,  not  only  in  attacking  Augean 
masses  of  detail  which  might  well  have  dismayed  a 
stronger  man,  but  also  in  running  counter  to  estab- 
lished prejudices  by  his  projects  of  reform.  The 
most  plodding  and  conscientious  of  magistrates,  he 
seems  often  on  the  bench  to  have  shown  a  strange 
caprice  or  even  a  freakish  frivolity.  Yet  at  least 
one  of  the  odd  anecdotes  told  of  him,  of  the  way  in 
which  he  induced  an  obstinate  woman  to  acknowl- 
edge her  son,  suggests  the  ingenuity  of  a  Solomon. 
A  scholar  by  temperament,  he  was  noted  for  his 
stupidity,  and  with  a  low  physical  vitality  he  had 
appetites  sensual  to  the  point  of  grossness. 

So  far  as  it  goes,  the  judgment  of  Diderot  is 
true  enough.  La  vie  privee  de  Claude^  he  says, 
montre  ce  que  le  mepris  des  parents  second^  d'une 
maiivaise  Mucation^  pent  sur  V esprit  et  le  caracthe 
d'tin  enfant  valetudinaire,  Claudius's  childhood  and 
youth  were  spent  in  ill-health  and  repression.  He 
was  a  backward  infant,  whom  his  own  mother  called 
a  monstrosity.     Throughout  most  of  his  early  life 


AS  AN  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENT  5 

he  was  subject  to  frequent  sickness,  and  "Fever'' 
appears  in  our  satire  attending  him  with  direful 
fidelity  to  the  very  entrance  of  heaven.  Con- 
temptuously kept  in  the  background  by  his  family, 
he  was  found  by  the  accident  which  put  him  on 
the  throne  quite  unprepared  with  experience  of 
public  office.  His  career  was  too  suddenly  ex- 
panded. The  faithful  laboriousness  which  might 
have  honored  a  petty  position  was  here  the  reverse 
of  a  qualification.  He  had  no  fit  sense  of  propor- 
tion, taking  upon  himself  all  kinds  of  business,  big 
and  little.  And  while  he  administered  them  with 
a  dull  conscientiousness  alternating  with  capricious 
whimsicality,  his  intermittent  intelligence  clouded 
by  indigestion,  —  for  Claudius  was  the  dyspeptic  of 
antiquity  as  well  as  one  of  the  gluttons,  —  his  ill- 
starred  merits  naturally  met  with  only  a  short-lived 
appreciation. 1  In  his  genuinely  intelligent  com- 
prehension of  many  of  the  aspects  of  his  govern- 
ment, and  his  honest  desire  to  see  the  Roman 
constitution  adapt  itself  as  smoothly  as  possible  to 
new  conditions,  Claudius  was  a  theorizer  rather 
than  an  executive.  As  an  early  example  of  the 
scholar  in  politics,  he  was  manipulated  by  more 
practical  politicians.  All  his  intellectual  qualities, 
however,  good  or  bad,  were  stultified  or  gro- 
tesquely distorted  by  the  intrusive  cravings  of  his 
weak  body ;  as  Dio  Cassius  says  in  his  qualified 
praise  of  him :  ovk  oXcya  koI  tcjp  Beovrcov  eirparrev 
iCf.  Suet.  CI.  12. 


6  THB  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

oTTore  e^co  re  tS>v  TrpoeiprnxevcDV  TraOcbv  iyiyverOy  koI 
iavTOV  eKpdrei.     (Ix.  3.) 

In  the  Ludiis  we  naturally  find  Claudius's  physi- 
cal vulnerabilities  hit  most  easily.  His  halting 
and  irresolute  gait  comes  first,  as  he  Hmps  off  to 
heaven  non  passibiis  acquis  (c.  i),  and  at  least 
three  times  more,  in  pede^n  dextrum  trahere  and 
insolitum  incessum  (c.  5),  and  in  the  ironical  praise 
of  his  fleetness  of  foot  in  the  nenia  (c.  12).  We 
have  fair  descriptions  of  Claudius's  personal  appear- 
ance in  Suetonius,  30,  and  Dio,  Ix.  2,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  extant  portrait  busts ;  the  general  physical 
grotesqueness  implied  in  the  terror  which  the  novi 
generis  fades  awoke  in  Hercules,  is  a  sufficiently 
palpable  exaggeration.  From  all  accounts  it  may 
be  concluded  scientifically  that  Claudius  was  well 
enough  when  quiescent,  but  that  his  nervous  reac- 
tions were  rather  uncouth,  as  was  not  strange  with 
a  body  that  had  been  so  preyed  upon  by  disease 
during  its  period  of  development.  To  this  we  can 
refer  the  corpus  eius  dis  iratis  natunty  of  chapter 
II,  as  well  as  the  allusions  to  his  shaking  head 
and  trembling  hands,  and  other  signs  of  physical 
degeneracy. 

In  the  same  category  perhaps  we  can  put  his 
defective  utterance.  This  is  a  favorite  gibe.  The 
heavenly  janitor  (c.  5)  reports  him  nescio  quid 
miftariy  and  to  an  inquiry  respondisse  nescio  quid 
peiturbato  sono  et  voce confusa.  Hercules  notes  with 
alarm  his  vocem  nullius  terrestris  anirnalis  sed  qualis 


AS  AN  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENT  7 

esse  marinis  beluis  solet,  raucam  et  implicatam,  and 
presently  has  occasion  to  demand  with  disgust, 
Quid  nunc  profatic  vocis  incerto  sonas  ?  When 
(c.  7)  Claudius  is  angry  at  some  of  Fever's  revela- 
tions, his  utterance  is  reported  only  quantum  intel- 
ligi  potuit,  and  Augustus  as  the  crowning  com- 
plaint in  his  arraignment  of  Claudius's  egregious 
unfitness  for  divinity  challenges  him  (c.  1 1 ),  tria 
verba  cito  dicat  et  servum  me  ducat.  Augustus  had 
observed  this  defect  in  his  grandnephew  long  be- 
fore. In  one  of  several  letters  (Suet.  CI.  4)  written 
about  the  boy  Claudius  to  his  grandmother  Livia, 
he  says,  Peream  nisi,  mea  Livia,  admiror.  Nam 
qui  tarn  a(Ta(f)(o<;  loquatur,  qui possit  quum  declamat 
aa(f>co(;  dicere  quae  diccfida  su?tt,  non  video.  Else- 
where (c.  30)  Suetonius  tells  of  Claudius's  stam- 
mering, with  the  imphcation  that  it  was  especially 
when  he  was  angry  or  excited,  as  he  evidently  is 
in  chapters  6  and  7  of  the  satire.  Augustus's 
observation  to  Livia  fits  curiously  well  with  what 
Tacitus  {Ann.  xiii.  3)  says  of  Claudius's  oratory: 
Nee  in  Claudio,  quoticfts  meditata  disereret,  elegan- 
tiam  requireres. 

The  limitation  here,  however,  must  refer  more 
particularly  to  his  intellect  than  to  his  tongue. 
Claudius's  mental  traits  were  no  less  opportune 
for  the  satirist  than  his  bodily  ones.  Like  some 
other  men  who  incline  to  pedantry  in  their  intel- 
lectual habits,  he  was  notoriously  absent-minded, 
which   in   the   practical  world  amounts   to   sheer 


8  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

stupidity.  Augustus  had  noted  with  disgust  Clau- 
dius's wool-gathering  propensities  as  a  boy  (cf. 
Suet.  4),  and  all  the  biographers  of  Claudius  give 
quaint  and  amazing  instances  of  what  Suetonius 
(c.  21,  38.  39,  40)  calls  his  oblivionem  et  inconside- 
rantianiy  vel  tit  Graece  dicam,  iierecDpiav  et  a^Xe-^Cav. 
He  was,  as  R.  Y.  Tyrrell  ^  would  translate  fjuerecopo^, 
distrait.  Poor  Claudius  himself  was  aware  that  he 
must  have  seemed  dull  at  times,  and  took  occasion 
to  explain  that  he  had  acted  so  as  a  matter  of  pru- 
dence under  his  tyrannical  predecessors.  His  apol- 
ogy, though  Dio  repeats  it  for  him,  was  evidently 
unconvincing,  for  intra  brevem  tempus  liber  editus 
\jst~\y  cui  index  erat  Mcopcov  iTravdaracnf;,  argiimen- 
tum  auteniy  sttdtitiam  neminem  fingere  (Suet.  38). 
The  loss  of  this  book  for  our  present  purpose  we 
do  not  know  how  much  to  regret. 

In  the  satirist's  overhauling  of  Claudius's  quali- 
I  fications  for  divine  honors,  the  fxeretopia  was  natu- 
rally not  overlooked.  Aut  regent  autfatimm  nasci 
oportere  (c.  i ),  stolidae  vitae  (c.  4),  and  7iec  cor  nee 
caput  habet  (c.  8)  are  of  reference  passably  direct,  as 
also  the  remark  (in  c.  12),  Clauditis  ut  vidit  funtis 
suuniy  intellexit  se  mortuum  esse,  an  early  instance, 
by  the  way,  in  the  series  of  witticisms  on  people  too 
stupid  to  know  when  they  are  done  for.     Tanttis 

^  Ed.  Cic.  Ep.  Vol.  I  (new  ed.),  p.  66.  In  this  connection, 
recall  the  flattering  characterization  in  the  Consol.  ad  Polyb.  (xiv), 
tenacissima  memoria.  The  contrast,  however,  is  more  apparent 
than  real. 


AS  AN  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENT  g 

concentiis  ut  etiam  Claudius  audire  posset  (c.  12) 
probably  alludes  to  the  same  inadvertency.  Clau- 
dius's question  when  in  Hades  he  met  the  crowd  of 
people  whom  from  time  to  time  his  orders  had  sent 
thither:  Quomodo  hue  venistis  vosf  (c.  13)  is  an 
example  of  oblivio  sufficiently  marked,  and  Augus- 
tus's bitter  taunt  when  Claudius  denied  knowledge 
of  having  killed  Messalina,  Turpius  est  quod  tie- 
scisti  quam  quod  oceidisti  {c.  11),  plainly  recalls  the 
extraordinary  instance  in  Suetonius,  39,  where  after 
having  sanctioned  her  death  Claudius  innocently 
inquired  at  dinner  eur  Domina  71071  ve7iiret. 

Not  least  notorious  among  Claudius's  peculiari- 
ties was  his  passion  for  holding  court.  lus  et  con- 
sul et  extra  ho7iore77i  laboriosissi77ie  dixit  (Suet.  14), 
both  in  season  and  out  of  season.  Chapter  7  of  the 
Ludus  speaks  of  his  sticking  to  the  work  through 
the  long  days  of  July  and  August,  the  customary 
vacation  time ;  though  curiously  enough  he  seems 
to  have  allowed  a  respite  at  the  opposite  season  (cf. 
Suet.  Galbay  14),  following  doubtless  the  calendar 
of  his  own  inclinations.  Claudius's  citation  of  these 
labors  appears  to  have  moved  Hercules  to  stand 
sponsor  for  him.  Otherwise  the  virtue  of  such 
judicial  industry  was  less  appreciated  in  heaven 
than  the  caprice  and  partiaHty  which  had  often  gone 
with  it.  The  bit  of  parody,  ficopov  TrXrjyri  (c.  7), 
speaks  volumes  of  the  whimsical  irresponsibility  of 
the  judge  who  did  so  many  things  7iovo  more,  and 
there  must  be  some  such  reference  as  this  in  the 


10  THE   SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

celestial  irony  of  ^^iriicovpeio^  Oeo^  non  potest  esse, 
\jiut\  ovT€  avTot;  Trpay/ia  e'xjei  tl  ovre  SXXol^  Tra/^e^et 
(c.  8).  Claudius  had  furnished  a  deal  of  trouble  in 
his  time.  Die  mikiy  dive  Claudi,  demands  Augustus 
(c.  lo),  quare  quemquam  ex  his,  quos  quasque  occi- 
disti,  a7itequam  de  causa  cognosceres,  antequam  au- 
direSy  damnasti  ?  hoc  ubi  fieri  so  let  ?  in  caelo  non  fit. 
Such  expeditious  methods  of  getting  through  the 
docket  furnish  one  of  the  themes  of  the  mock  glori- 
fication in  the  nenia  (c.  12),  and  the  same  besotted 
assiduity  suggested  the  punishment  voted  in  the 
Olympian  senatusconsultum :  nee  illi  reriim  iudi- 
candarum  vacationem  dari  (c.  11). 

Claudius's  literary  pretensions  receive  less  ex- 
tended attention  from  the  satirist.  There  is 
reflected  light,  however,  in  the  remark  on  Her- 
cules's  greeting  of  the  newcomer  with  a  verse  from 
Homer  :  Claudius  gaudet  esse  illic  philologos  homi- 
nes ;  sperat  futurum  aliquem  historiis  suis  locum. 
We  need  not  suppose  any  pedantry  in  his  Homeric 
reply,  nor  in  the  iravra  <f>i\(t)V  TrXrjprjj  with  which 
he  recognized  his  acquaintances  in  Hades.  Per- 
haps it  is  a  hit  at  his  particular  fondness  for  Greek 
quotations.  (Cf .  Suet.  42  :  Multum  vero  pro  tribu- 
nali  etiam  Homericis  locutus  est  versibus,  Cf .  also 
Dio,  Ix.  16.)  But  the  fashion  was  one  common  to  the 
time,  and  with  which  the  satirist  himself  is  quite 
in  accord.  He  does  not,  however,  sympathize  with 
Claudius's  good-natured  interest  in  budding  poets 
(cf.  Pliny,  Ep.  i.   13),  judging  from  vosque  poetae 


AS  AN  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENT  1 1 

lugete  novi  (c.  12),  an  obvious  intimation  of  the 
commoner  attitude.  In  Diespiter's  complimentary 
speech,  which  appears  to  aim  at  Claudius's  learn- 
ing, cum  divus  Claudius  .  .  .  longeqiie  omnes 
mortales  sapientia  anteccllat,  the  whole  thing  leads 
up  to  the  more  pointed  hint  at  his  gluttony,  aliquem 
qui  cum  Ro^nulo  possit  ^ferveiitia  rapa  vorare '  (c.  9). 

The  nenia  closes  with  the  anticlimax  of  a  gibe  at 
Claudius's  fondness  for  gambling.  As  to  the  justice 
of  this,  one  of  his  defenders  has  naively  suggested 
that  he  was  so  busy  as  a  judge  that  he  could  not 
have  had  much  time  for  dice ;  though  we  are  told 
that  he  managed  to  write  a  book  on  the  subject. 
But  after  his  judicial  incompetence  has  served  for 
his  condemnation  in  heaven,  this  more  trivial  vice 
determines  his  immediate  disposition  in  hell. 

Not  to  carry  the  noting  of  details  quite  to  a  sta- 
tistical extent,  we  find  that  the  satirist  has  dealt 
perhaps  as  faithfully  as  he  could  with  the  familiar 
fault  of  Claudius's  whole  reign.  It  is  this  into 
which  long  afterward  Ausonius  condensed,  in  an 
elegiac  abstract  for  his  son,  the  substance  of  Sue- 
tonius's  life  of  this  Caesar : 

Libertina  tamen  miptarum  et  cri7nina  passus, 
Non  faciendo  nocens  set  patiendo  fuit ?■ 

Julian's  satire  on  the  Caesars^  introduces  Claudius 
only  to  mock  the  same  passivity.     It  is  dramatically 

1  Ausonius,  Teub.  ed.,  p.  183. 

2  See  p.  78. 


12  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

illustrated  in  Tacitus*s  brilliant  account  of  Narcis- 
sus's assumption  of  authority  to  achieve  Messalina's 
downfall,  of  which  we  are  reminded  when  in  the 
satire  Narcissus  comes  to  precede  his  master  into 
the  lower  world.  The  way  in  which  Claudius  was 
hoodwinked  and  subjected  by  those  about  him 
doubtless  more  than  anything  else  earned  for  him 
the  general  contempt.  There  must  have  been  a 
covert  amusement  intended  in  the  suggestion  made 
to  the  senate  by  those  who  urged  his  marriage  to 
Agrippina,  that  the  emperor  should  be  liberated 
from  domestic  cares  in  order  to  be  free  for  the  pubHc 
business.  The  subject,  however,  is  one  which  our 
contemporary  satirist  had  to  treat  with  a  certain 
caution.  The  last  and  strongest  of  Claudius's  wives 
was  still  in  power,  and  the  writer  contents  himself 
chiefly  with  the  freedmen ;  as  in  c.  6,  putares,  he 
says,  omnes  illius  esse  libertos :  adeo  ilium  nemo 
curabat.  As  the  piece  advances  we  mark  the 
changes  from  the  taunt  at  Claudius's  subservience 
to  his  freedmen,  to  bitter  denunciations  of  the  mur- 
ders and  high  crimes  that  they  committed  in  his 
name,  till  at  the  end  the  portentous  solemnity  of 
the  indictment  gives  way  to  comic  bathos  in  the 
triviality  of  the  punishments,  each  of  which,  how- 
ever, has  its  point ;  and  finally  there  is  a  hasty  but 
conclusive  application  of  a  poetic  justice  which 
leaves  Claudius  the  slave  of  a  freedman  of  the 
infernal  judge. 

There  is  a  judgmental  aptness  in  it  all.     But  the 


AS  AN  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENT  1 3 

sermon  is  perhaps  too  modern  for  even  Seneca  to 
have  intended.  Solemn,  moreover,  as  the  gen- 
eralization might  be  made  to  appear,  the  impartial 
justice  of  the  piece  to  its  subject  is  by  no  means 
to  be  assumed.  The  satire  throws  light  on  the 
reign  and  character  of  Claudius  at  several  points, 
but  the  light  is  not  undistorted.  In  regard  to  the 
long  list  of  victims  who  are  enumerated  in  the 
indictment,  it  is  of  course  a  poor  apology  to  say 
that  the  guilt  if  not  the  responsibility  for  these 
murders  should  rest  more  heavily  on  others  than 
on  Claudius;  and  true  as  it  is,  this  is  a  judgment 
in  which  the  writer  of  the  satire  could  scarcely  be 
expected  to  concur,  in  view  of  the  tnrpius  est  of  his 
remark  on  the  death  of  Messalina.  But  he  treated 
cavalierly  matters  in  Claudius's  career  which  are 
really  entitled  to  respect.  It  is  a  great  pity  that 
we  have  not  Claudius's  own  account  of  his  life  and 
what  he  conceived  to  be  his  policy,  the  eight  books 
De  Vita  Sua  (cf.  Suet.  41).  They  may  not  have 
contained  the  most  enlightened  self-analysis,  but 
so  far  as  we  can  judge  of  Claudius's  style  it  was 
characterized  by  frankness  rather  than  reserve 
(cf.  Tac.  xi.  23-25,  and  Suet.  41,  Correptus  saepe,  i.e. 
in  his  historical  revelations,  et  a  matre  et  ab  avia), 
and  these  books  would  not  have  been  less  interest- 
ing to  us  that  they  were  written,  as  Suetonius  says, 
magis  inepte  quant  ineleganter. 

Claudius's  scholarship,  which  is  so  depreciatingly 
regarded,  seems  to  have  been  substantial,  even  if 


14  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

not  of  the  most  illuminated.  Pliny  the  Elder 
cites  his  histories  frequently.  The  oration  on  the 
admission  of  the  Aeduans  to  the  ius  honorum^ 
indicates  a  varied  knowledge  of  the  origins  of 
Rome,  with  side-lights  from  Etruscan  sources 
which  modern  investigators  of  that  enigmatical 
people  would  well  like  to  reach.  Claudius's  addi- 
tions to  the  Latin  alphabet,  it  is  true,  were  accepted 
more  upon  his  imperial  than  his  scholarly  authority, 
but  little  as  they  were  practically  worth,  they  indi- 
cate a  degree  of  phonetic  and  Hnguistic  study 
which  involved  more  than  bare  erudition.^  In  the 
encouragement  of  other  men's  literary  efforts,  we 
infer  from  Pliny's  allusion,  as  well  as  the  jest  in 
the  nenia,  that  Claudius  showed  them  a  patient 
attention  as  generous  as  it  was  exceptional.  His 
own  literary  work  doubtless  chiefly  lacked  that 
element  of  style  which  comes  from  a  vigorous 
nervous  organization,  the  want  of  which  is  more 
likely  than  anything  else  to  bring  contemptuous 
treatment. 

Of  the  great  public  works  of  Claudius's  reign,  the 
credit  may  be  largely  due  to  his  ministers,  but  is 
by  no  means  altogether  so ;  in  regard  to  these  the 
satirist  wisely  has  nothing  to  say. 

^  In  48  A.D.  Cf.  Tac.  xi.  24.  On  the  bronze  tables  discovered  at 
Lyons  in  1524,  see  CIL.  xiii.  1668;  de  Boissieu,  Inscr,  de  Lyon, 
p.  133  seq.;  Vallentin's  Bulletin  Apigraphique  de  la  Gaule,  ii. 
p.  3,  and  planche  I ;   cf.  Dessau,  Inscr.  Sel.,  p.  52. 

2  See  Fr.  Biicheler,  De  Ti,  Claudio  Caesa?'e  Grammatico,  Elber 
feld,  1856. 


AS  AN  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENT  1 5 

The  policy  of  extending  Roman  citizenship  to 
the  provincials  is  the  butt  of  an  effective  jest,  dum 
hos  paicctiloSy  qui  siiperstmt^  civitate  donarety  etc. 
(c.  3),  recalling  the  witty  placard  that  was  posted 
in  Rome  in  Julius  Caesar's  time,  asking  people  not 
to  be  forward  in  showing  new-made  senators  the 
way  to  the  Curia.  But  the  well-known  speech  of 
Claudius  on  the  admission  of  the  Aeduans  to  office, 
whether  we  read  it  in  the  imperfectly  exact  form 
of  the  Lyons  tablets  or  the  more  elegant  outHne 
given  by  Tacitus,  really  shows  a  progressive  and 
statesmanlike  view  of  the  true  character  of  the 
empire.  The  outcry  against  it,  in  face  of  which 
Claudius's  independence  is  especially  to  be  noted  — 
his  at  que  talibus  hand  pcrmotiLS  princeps  .  .  .  statim 
contra  disseruit  (Tac.  xi.  24)  —  was,  in  fact,  both 
illiberal  and  reactionary.  The  abuse  hinted  at 
in  Claudius's  defence  by  Diespiter  {Lud.  c.  9),  who 
vendere  civitattilas  solebat,  was  incidental  and  occa- 
sional. Claudius  in  his  censorship,  besides,  made 
particular  decrees  against  the  usurpation  of  Roman 
rights  by  ^trsons  peregrinae  conditionis  (Suet.  25), 
and  punished  as  well  ambitious  liber tini  who  pre- 
tended to  a  station  that  did  not  belong  to  them. 

The  unflattering  remarks  in  the  Ltcdiis  on  the 
subject  of  the  caicsidici  and  Claudius's  services  to 
that  notorious  class,  doubtless  refer  particularly  to 
his  limited  authorization  of  the  receiving  of  fees 
by  advocates  (Tac.  xi.  7).  This  proposal  was  bit- 
terly opposed  by  the  conservatives.     The  emperor 


1 6  THE   SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

nevertheless,  thinking  that  the  arguments  in  its 
favor  had  the  side  of  reason,  though  less  preten- 
tious than  the  aristocratic  objections,  assented  to 
the  frank  giving  of  ho7toraria  not  exceeding  ten 
thousand  sesterces.  We  cannot  but  think  he  was 
right.  The  satirist  then  was  so  far  wrong,  just  as 
was  Aristophanes  in  holding  Socrates  up  to  ridi- 
cule as  a  sophist.  Claudius,  though  often  inef- 
fective, was  by  temperament  a  reformer.  This 
showed  itself  in  two  directions,  that  of  right 
reason  and  common  sense  making  accommoda- 
tions to  the  new  conditions  in  the  state,  and  that 
of  a  formal  return  to  the  usages  of  the  fathers ;  in 
both  ways,  however,  he  was  at  variance  with  the 
immediate  conservatism  of  his  day.  And  though 
he  is  notorious  for  his  antiquarian  revival  of  old 
customs,  it  is  surprising  how  many  precedents  he 
broke,  as  we  have  found  the  historians  continually 
pointing  out,  novo  more.  Compare  Dio,  Ix.  21,  and 
id.  23,  %va  y€  /jlt)  KaivoTo/jbelv  n  ho^rj,  showing  how  he 
felt  himself  liable  to  be  misunderstood  in  this  way. 
It  would  of  course  be  undiscriminating  to  expect 
really  fair  treatment  in  a  burlesque  like  the  Apo- 
colocyntosis.  Only  as  a  caricature  is  it  a  study,  and 
while  it  does  not  give  the  subject  his  due,  it  at  least 
follows  his  essential  Hues  and  treats  him  consist- 
ently from  its  own  standpoint.  At  the  same  time 
it  rather  delicately  avoids  matters  likely  to  be  dan- 
gerous. If  less  than  we  should  expect  is  made  of 
the  extent  to  which  Claudius  was  the  cat's  paw 


AS  AN  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENT  1 7 

of  those  about  him,  questions  are  avoided  in  the 
region  of  Agrippina's  responsibility.  She  and  her 
circle  had  too  recently  profited  by  precisely  that  one 
of  Claudius's  defects.  It  is  not  without  interest  after 
reading  the  later  historical  accounts,  to  look  in  the 
Apocolocyfitosis  for  what  is  left  out.  For  instance, 
the  satire  leaves  us  with  simply  the  official  story 
of  the  manner  and  time  of  Claudius's  death,  in 
spite  of  the  tempting  "copy"  that  might  have 
been  made  of  the  true  one.  There  is  no  hint  of 
the  boleti  which  were  to  become  proverbial.^  But 
there  is  a  real  finesse  in  the  way  the  satirist's 
account  is  related  to  his  inner  knowledge  of  the 
actual  facts  in  the  case.  After  dating  the  event, 
both  poetically  and  prosaically,  he  states  :  Clauditis 
afiimam  agere  coepit,  nee  invejiire  exitinn  poterat. 
Then  Mercury  and  the  Fates  have  a  discussion 
while  the  matter  is  pending.  And  while,  as  we 
know,  Agrippina  is  pretending  that  Claudius  is 
still  alive,  calling  in  comedians  to  entertain  him 
and  cleverly  shutting  the  pubHc  out  from  any 
knowledge  of  the  situation  till  all  is  ready  for  her 
son's  assumption  of  power,  the  Fates  and  Apollo 
are  kept  sedulously  spinning  out  Nero's  destiny,  in 
heaven.  When  everything  is  done,  Claudius  a^iimam 
ebidliit  et  ex  eo  desiit  vivere  videri;  i,e,  he  became 
known  to  be  dead.  This  tells  nothing,  save  to  those 
who  knew  it  all  before,  and  the  joke  does  double 
duty. 

^  Cf.  Mart.  Epig.  i.  20, 4;  Juv.  Sat,  v.  147;  Suet.  Nero,  ^y,  etc. 
c 


l8  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

Apart  from  the  principal  subject  of  the  satire 
there  are  hints  of  other  details  in  the  life  of  the 
time.  Thus  we  have  an  instructive  intimation  of 
the  social  consequences  that  befell  the  obliging 
senator  who  for  Caligula's  benefit  had  testified 
to  Drusilla's  ascent  to  the  skies.  The  unsavory 
habits  of  Narcissus  appear  to  be  given  as  a  mat- 
ter of  court  gossip,  libellous  or  perhaps  not.  The 
picture  of  the  imperial  funeral  procession  is  another, 
with  which  we  have  not  many  for  comparison. 

One  matter  which  seems  little  in  harmony  with 
the  rest  of  the  satire  is  the  poem  on  Nero's  des- 
tiny (c.  4).  It  is  of  course  a  bald  intrusion  for  con- 
temporary effect.  As  to  its  content,  it  must  be 
put  alongside  Seneca's  books  De  Clementia,  Nero 
is  described,  by  a  familiar  method  of  preceptorial 
tact,  as  an  example  of  what  he  ought  to  be.  These 
verses  in  the  Apocolocyntosis  are  not  to  be  taken 
too  seriously,  but  they  do  appear  to  represent 
Seneca's  habitual  attitude  toward  his  imperial  pupil 
in  the  early  part  of  his  reign.  Besides,  the  con- 
temptuous brevity  with  which  Claudius  is  dis- 
missed in  the  beginning  {turpi  .  .  .  fiiso,  etc.) 
points  the  desired  contrast  between  the  meanness 
of  Claudius's  character  and  the  anticipated  glories 
of  an  artist  on  the  throne.  We  find  indeed  in 
these  two  princes  an  entertaining  juxtaposition  of 
the  artist  and  the  pedant,  each,  as  the  sequel 
showed,  occasionally  at  his  worst. 

If  the  Apocolocyntosis  was  written  with  any  other 


AS  AN  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENT  19 

motive  than  to  free  the  author*s  mind,  its  purpose 
was  doubtless  political.  Two  generations  after  this 
time,  Pliny  the  Younger  could  frankly  say  even  to 
an  emperor  that  Nero  consecrated  Claudius  only  ut 
irrideret  {Panegyr.  xi).  This,  however,  was  more 
epigrammatic  than  true  of  the  actual  days  when  the 
palace  revolution  had  just  put  Nero  on  the  throne. 
The  reader  of  Tacitus  easily  infers  that  Agrippina 
must  have  welcomed  the  timely  appearance  of  a 
pamphlet  which  would  contribute  to  the  discredit  of 
Claudius's  reign,  and  cleverly  intimate  better  times 
at  hand.  The  real  manner  of  Claudius's  death  must 
soon  have  become  known,  and  Agrippina  and  Nero 
secured  themselves  in  power  so  easily,  no  doubt, 
because  people  thought  it  hardly  worth  while  to 
care  what  had  happened  to  the  dead  man.  Nero 
and  his  mother,  nevertheless,  had  prudential  rea- 
sons enough  for  themselves  officially  consigning 
Claudius  to  heaven,  as  well  as  reasons  both  practi- 
cal and  aesthetic  for  enjoying  sub  rosa  such  an  un- 
official, irresponsible  disposal  of  him,  by  some  one 
else,  as  we  have  in  the  Apocolocyntosis.  Nero  him- 
self, in  all  probability  at  a  later  date,^  joked  at 
Claudius's  expense,  and  even  with  reference  to  the 
poisoned  mushrooms  by  which  he  died.  But  while 
Britannicus  was  still  a  possibility,  and  Nero  still 
perhaps  felt  unsafe  over  the  murder  of  his  prede- 

^  Heinrich's  surprising  theory  was  that  the  Luiius  itself  was 
Nero's  idea,  Seneca  serving  only  to  put  it  into  its  present  form.  See 
Bahr,  Gesch.  d.  rom.  Lit.y  3d  ed.,  vol.  ii.  p.  461. 


20  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

cesser,  the  useful  ridicule  of  Claudius  had  to  be 
supplied  by  some  one  else,  and  may  well  have  been 
doubly  welcome.  It  is  therefore  quite  possible  that 
the  satire  was  written  to  meet  a  felt  want  of  this 
kind. 

Yet  it  would  not  require  a  great  shifting  of  the 
emphasis  to  tempt  us  to  take  the  Apocolocyiitosis  as 
a  tract  against  the  absurdities  of  the  estabHshed 
religion,  especially,  of  course,  the  phase  of  it  in- 
volved in  the  imperial  apotheoses.  The  situation 
suggests  one  of  Tertullian's  ironies :  Nisi  homini 
deus placiierit,  deus  7ion  erit ;  homo  iam  deo  propitiiis 
esse  debebit  {Apologet.,  c.  5).  St.  Augustine  has  a 
chapter  (^De  Civitate  Dei,  vi.  10),  de  libertate  Sene- 
cae,  qui  ,  ,  ,  in  eo  libro  quern  contra  sup  erst  itiones 
condidit,  multo  copiosius  atque  vehementius  repre- 
hendit  ipse  civilem  istam  et  urbanam  theologian 
quam  Varro  theatricam  atque  fabulosam.  Since 
the  book  contra  superstitiones  is  lost,  the  only 
value  of  this  evidence  is  in  showing  the  direction 
of  one  of  Seneca's  interests. 

Dissatisfaction  with  religious  matters  in  the 
Roman  State  seems  to  have  taken  two  main  direc- 
tions :  one  opposed  to  the  multipHcation  of  divini- 
ties which  was  the  fashion  of  the  time,  and  harking 
conservatively  back  to  the  old  days  of  the  simpler 
Italian  religion  (cf.  Juvenal's  Sat.  xiii.,  and  in  the 
Ludus,  c.  9,  olim  magna  res  erat  deum  fieri) ;  the 
other  involving  the  weak  points  in  the  whole  pagan 
pantheon.      For  our  Ltidus  could  be   postulated 


AS  AN  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENT  21 

something  of  both  points  of  view.  It  is,  moreover, 
the  first  appearance  in  extant  Roman  literature  of 
just  such  an  irreverent  dramatic  treatment  of  the 
gods,  as  Aristophanes,  for  instance,  had  made  more 
familiar  to  the  Greeks.  There  was  scepticism 
already  indeed  in  Ennius,  Lucilius,  and  Varro; 
and  Lucretius  (cf.  De  R,  N.  v.  1161-1240),  not  to 
mention  Cicero,  had  in  a  serious  scientific  way- 
reviewed  the  popular  mythology  with  destructive 
intent,  but  such  a  method  was  nothing  in  effec- 
tiveness compared  to  tliis.  Few  things  could  be 
more  subversive  of  reverence  for  the  orthodox 
gods  than  the  picture  of  Jupiter  getting  angry  and 
slangily  reproaching  his  fellow-divinities  in  coun- 
cil, or  than  the  simplicity  of  Hercules,  as  an 
examiner  of  applicants,  less  shrewd  than  St.  Peter, 
first  getting  himself  taken  in  by  an  impostor  and 
then  electioneering  in  his  behalf  with  such  tips 
as  manus  maniim  lavat.  Nowadays,  as  Verdaro 
remarks  in  his  introduction  (p.  25),  this  sort  of 
thing  is  relatively  familiar,  ma^  pel  tempo  di 
Seiieea,  era  tina  grande  inttiizione  poetica.  It  was 
at  least  more  of  a  literary  novelty  than  at  present ; 
and  this  should  have  made  it  count  the  more  in  its 
irreligious  aspect. 

But  we  must  remember  that  the  Romans  were 
temperamentally  inclined  to  treat  their  gods  in 
a  rather  matter-of-fact  fashion.  The  mimes  and 
Atellanae  are  said  to  have  been  often  irreverent; 
and  so  early  a  writer  as  Valerius  Antias,  dealing 


22  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

with  a  still  earlier  tradition,  describes  the  pious 
Numa  as  dickering  with  Jove  like  a  veritable  shy- 
ster. This  element  in  the  Ludus  then  would  have 
been  less  striking  than  might  be  supposed. 

As  for  the  particular  matter  of  deifying  an 
emperor,  the  modern  conception  of  deity  is  so 
immensely  different  from  that  which  prevailed  in 
the  time  of  the  early  Caesars,  that  the  attitude 
which  to  us  seems  inevitable  on  the  subject  is  by 
no  means  to  be  assumed  of  even  intelligent  con- 
temporaries of  such  an  event.  Professor  Boissier, 
in  his  interesting  and  important  chapter  on  U Apo- 
th^ose  Imperiale  {La  Religion  Romaine^  i.  ch.  2), 
explains  at  length  the  sources  of  that  public 
state  of  mind  to  which  the  passing  of  the  barrier 
between  humanity  and  divinity  was  not  at  all 
essentially  absurd.  The  political  aspects  of  the 
cult  of  the  Caesars  give  it  a  still  appreciable  dig- 
nity. Even  Seneca  would  hardly  have  dreamed  of 
actually  undermining  the  institution  as  such.  His 
satire  was  quite  personal;  and  while  Boissier  al- 
ludes to  its  success  as  facheux  potcr  V apoMose 
impMale,  it  would  require  a  ponderous  sort  of 
criticism  to  see  in  the  Apocolocyiitosis  any  such 
serious  purpose  as  that  of  theological  enlighten- 
ment. We  need  not,  on  the  whole,  suspect  the 
author  of  any  other  intent  than  that  of  amusing 
himself  and  a  few  others,  of  freeing  his  mind,  in 
fact,  at  the  arrival  of  the  moment  when  he  saw,  as 
Hercules  didyferrum  stmm  i^t  igne  esse. 


THE   QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  23 

II 

The  historical  interest  of  the  Apocolocyntosis, 
therefore,  lies  not  only  in  what  it  does  for  its 
subject,  Claudius,  but  also  in  what  it  shows  of 
the  character  and  intention  of  its  author.  Seneca 
was  one  of  the  most  significant  as  well  as  visibly 
important  men  of  his  time  ;  and  the  nature  of  most 
of  his  writings  is  such,  to  say  the  least,  that  this 
satire  easily  appears  a  surprising  thing  to  have 
come  from  his  pen.  There  are,  in  fact,  two  related 
problems  which  have  to  be  dealt  with  in  this  con- 
nection :  how  to  account  for  the  Ludus  among 
the  works  of  the  philosopher,  and  how  to  account 
for  the  discrepancy  of  the  title  ApocolocyntosiSy 
under  which  Dio  Cassius  (Ix.  35)  presumably 
alludes  to  it. 

If  the  piece  could  be  proved  to  be  not  Seneca's, 
it  would  simply  be  one  more  in  the  group  of  spu- 
rious works  which  in  the  Middle  Ages  came  to  be 
attached  to  his  name.  It  is  one  of  the  accessories 
of  fame  to  get  the  credit  of  things,  both  good  and 
bad,  which  one  did  not  do.  Seneca  seems  often 
to  have  been  so  favored  in  mediaeval  times,  e.g. 
in  the  case  of  the  Senteiitiae  of  Publilius  Syrus, 
which  so  long  went  under  his  name.  This  fact,  of 
course,  proves  nothing  as  to  the  ApocolocyntosiSy  but 
its  tendency  is  to  weaken  faith. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  can  accept  it  as  his,  it 
presents  but  one  more  feature  in  the  already  abun- 


24  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

dantly  paradoxical  aspect  of  his  life.  The  common- 
places of  literary  estimate  of  the  Apocolocyntosisy 
such  as  are  provided  in  the  histories  of  Roman 
literature,  are  quite  generally  colored  by  the 
critics*  judgments  upon  Seneca  for  writing  such 
a  piece.  CruttwelP  says  he  "revenged  himself 
{i,e,  for  his  exile)  after  Claudius's  death  by  this 
sorry  would-be  satire,'*  etc.  Schmitz^  calls  it  a 
**  bitter  and  unworthy  satire  on  the  deceased  em- 
peror Claudius."  Farrar,  in  a  note  appended  to 
his  essay  on  Seneca,^  says,  "We  may  at  least 
hope  "  that  the  Apocolocyntosis  is  not  by  the  same 
hand  that  wrote  the  adulatory  Consolatio  ad  Poly- 
Hum.  Friedlander,  in  an  historical  review,^  refers 
to  it  as  ein  Pasqidll  .  .  .  mehr  boshaft  als  witzig, 
Mackail,  likewise,  in  his  History  of  Latin  Litera- 
ture^ describes  it  as  a  "  silly  and  spiteful  attack  on 
the  memory  of  the  emperor  Claudius,"  going  on  to 
imply  that  it  is  rather  dull ;  and  even  dictionaries 
go  out  of  their  way  to  call  it  "an  insipid  lampoon." 
On  the  other  hand,  E.  Havet^  has  this  to  say: 
SMque  est,  aprh  Ciceron  et  avec  P^trone,  V^crivain 
romain  qui  a  eu  le  plus  de  ce  que  nous  appelons  de 
V esprit ;  et  il  n'en  a  mis  nulle  part  autant  que  dans 
ce  curieux  pamphlet,  d'un  ton  si  piquant  et  si  mo- 
derne.     Boissier"^  calls  it  une  des  satires  les  plus 

1  Hist,  of  Rom.  Lit.,  p.  377.  *  Hist.  Zeitschr.,  N.  F.  49. 

2  Hist,  of  Latin  Lit.,  p.  142.  ^  p.  1 74. 

8  Seekers  after  God,  p.  1 19.  ^  j^^^^  Poi  ^^  Lit.,1%']^. 

■^  La  R'elig.  Rom.,  Vol.  I.  p.  195.     In  describing  the  piece,  Pro- 
fessor Boissier  alludes  by  mistake  to  Mercury  for  Hercules. 


THE   QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  25 

vives  et  les  phis  gaies  qtie  Vantiqidti  nous  ait 
laisshs ;  and  Klebs^  asserts,  Es  ist  erne  ebenso 
witzige  wie  giftige  Schmdhschrift. 

These  typical  estimates  I  quote,  not  for  their  util- 
ity in  forming  a  new  one,  but  to  illustrate  how  the 
ethical  question  is,  after  all,  largely  one  of  tempera- 
ment and  point  of  view.  To  condemn  a  work  of 
art  on  aesthetic  grounds  for  moral  reasons  is  a  de- 
vice not  unknown,  either  in  the  hope  of  doing  good 
or  from  some  temperamental  involvement  of  the 
moral  and  aesthetic  senses.  There  is  probably  no 
need  of  determining  whether  it  is  compromising  to 
like  the  Apocolocyntosis  or  obtuse  not  to  do  so.  The 
importance  of  such  considerations  to  the  question 
of  Seneca's  authorship  is  slight.  The  only  preju- 
dice that  can  fairly  be  acknowledged  in  the  matter 
is  an  indisposition  to  interfere  with  whatever  inter- 
est the  satire  possesses.  Even  this,  perhaps,  is  by 
way  of  begging  the  question. 

The  tradition  of  Seneca's  authorship  of  the 
existing  Ludiis  has  been  variously  attacked ;  in  re- 
cent years  by  Stahr  (in  the  appendix  to  his  Agrip- 
pina\  and  by  Riese  and  Lindemann,  while  Birt, 
following  a  somewhat  different  line,  refuses  to 
identify  the  piece  we  have  with  the  one  which 
Dio  Cassius  said  that  Seneca  wrote.  The  prin- 
cipal objections  to  the  common  tradition,  while 
unequally  shared  and  emphasized  by  the  different 
critics,  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

1  Hist.  Zeitschr.,  N.  F.  25. 


26  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

(i)  The  meanness  of  the  attack  on  Claudius 
after  he  was  dead,  as  well  as  the  pettiness  of  some 
of  its  details,  is  unworthy  of  Seneca  the  man  and 
the  philosopher.^ 

(2)  The  contrast  between  this  attack  and  the 
adulations  of  the  same  emperor  in  the  Consolatio 
ad  Polybium  is  too  particularly  glaring  for  us  to 
accept  this  as  from  the  same  hand  that  wrote  the 
other. 

(3)  It  would  have  been  politically  most  inept 
for  one  in  Seneca's  position  ^  to  make  fun  of  an 
imperial  consecratio,  a  reflection  upon  the  whole 
public  administration. 

(4)  There  are  specific  incompatibilities  between 
the  Ludus  and  Seneca's  known  views  and  per- 
sonal history ;  e.g.  narrow-minded  ridicule  of  the 
extension  of  Roman  citizenship  in  contrast  with 
his  progressive  ideas  on  the  subject;  the  absurdity 
for  Seneca,  the  Corduban,  to  taunt  Claudius  with 
his  provincial  birth ;  the  inconsistency  of  the  Stoic 
teaching  with  regard  to  physical  infirmities  and 
the  mockery  of  Claudius's  bodily  defects.  Inaccu- 
racies of  statement,  too,  have  been  urged  in  this 
connection,  as  that  which  describes  the  popular 
rejoicing  at  Claudius's  death,  and  the  false  account 
of  the  manner  and  hour  of  the  death  itself. 

(5)  The  literary  style  is  in  many  respects  quite 
different  from  that  known  as  Seneca's. 


1  See  especially  Riese. 

2  Stahr,  pp.  335  and  337. 


THE   QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  ZJ 

(6)  The  silence  of  all  Latin  authors  as  to  the 
existence  of  such  a  work  leaves  but  a  weak  tradi- 
tion in  its  favor.i 

(7)  The  alleged  reference  to  it  in  Dio  Cassius 
is  of  applicability  more  than  doubtful. 

The  tradition  that  Seneca  wrote  the  satire  will 
doubtless  never  be  positively  proved  correct.  It 
is  necessary,  therefore,  to  take  up  each  of  the 
objections  to  this  view  and  see  if  it  is  impossible 
or  even  finally  improbable. 

The  first  of  them  suggests  a  wide  and  entertain- 
ing field  for  psychological  discussion.  The  satire 
in  question  was  not  an  heroic  thing  for  Seneca,  or 
anybody  else,  to  write ;  indeed,  it  was  far  from  nice 
of  him.  But  at  least  it  does  not  compromise  his 
intelligence,  however  it  may  affect  our  view  of  his 
character.  And  we  are  under  no  obligations  to 
uphold,  with  Saint  Jerome,  Seneca's  claims  to 
sainthood.  Seneca  himself  said,  casually ,2  of  his 
philosophy,  iitiniqiiam  mores,  qtcos  extuliy  refero, 
Dio's  brilliant,  though  it  is  to  be  hoped  exag- 
gerated, enumeration  of  Seneca's  moral  inconsist- 
encies is  well  known :  .  .  .  koX  iv  aX\oL<;  irdvTa 
TCi  ivavTLcoTara  oh  i<\>Lkoa6<^eL  ttolcov  rjXey^^^Or}. 
Koi  yap  Tvpavviho^  KaTTjjopcbv^  TVpavvohthdaKoKo^ 
iyivero'  koi  rcav  avvovrcov  roh  Swdarat^  Kara- 
Tpexcov,  ovK  cKJ^iararo  tov  iraXaTtov?  Disquiet- 
ing as  the  Ludus  may  be  to  the  delicately  moral 

^  Stahr,  p.  338.  Ruhkopf  praef,  Vol.  IV.  p.  xxxi.  Fickert, 
Vol.  III.  p.  781.  2  £p^  7^  I,  8  Dio,  ixi.  10. 


K 


28  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

regard,  yet  on  the  assumption  that  it  was  written 
by  Seneca  there  is  not  the  sHghtest  difficulty  in 
multiplying  explanations  for  the  phenomenon. 

We  have  other  evidence  that  Seneca,  after  his 
exile,  cherished  a  grudge  against  Claudius.  When 
Agrippina  secured  his  recall  from  Corsica  and  got 
him  the  praetorship,  it  was  in  order  that  her 
ambition  for  the  young  Domitius  might  profit  by 
his  counsels,  quia  Seneca  fidus  in  Agrippinam 
memoria  beneficii  et  infensics  Claudio  dolore  in- 
iuriae  credebatur  (Tac.  Ann,  xii.  8).  While  Nero 
was  still  under  Seneca's  influence,  we  know  that 
ministers  of  Claudius  were  dismissed  and  regula- 
tions of  Claudius  abrogated.^  When  Suillius,  who 
had  been  powerful  and  corrupt  under  the  Claudian 
regime,  was  accused,  he  charged  that  it  was  be- 
cause Seneca  was  hostile  to  Claudius's  friends,  sub 
quo,  Suillius  alleged,  iustissimum  exilium  pertu- 
lisset?  This  implies  that  Seneca's  attitude  toward 
the  emperor  who  had  exiled  him  was  sufficiently 
understood  by  his  contemporaries.  How  far  the 
laughter  that  greeted  the  funeral  oration  may  have 
irritated  Seneca  into  added  acrimony  against  the 
man  who  had  involuntarily  furnished  a  com- 
promising subject  for  his  rhetorical  skill,  we  can- 
not say. 

It  is  clear,  besides,  that  apart  from  old  scores 
between  them,  the  character  of  Claudius  must  have 

1  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  5  and  14. 

2  Ibid.  xiii.  42. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  29 

been  especially  distasteful  to  a  man  like  Seneca. 
The  Stoic  sense  that  the  most  important  thing  in 
the  world  is  to  establish  the  personal  freedom 
which  comes  from  self-control,  making  its  possessor 
relatively  indifferent  to  the  loss  of  political  liberty, 
would  leave  nothing  but  contempt  for  a  character 
like  Claudius,  who  was  so  far  from  master  of  him- 
self. At  first  sight,  Claudius's  literary  interests 
might  seem  to  have  commended  him  to  the  literary 
philosopher.  But  there  is  probably  no  one  who 
so  thoroughly  loathes  pedantry  as  the  enlightened 
scholar.  In  point  of  mere  erudition  we  need  not 
try  to  compare  Claudius  and  Seneca.  Claudius 
was  a  man  of  genuinely  scholarly  tastes,  hampered 
though  these  were  by  low-lived  indulgences.  But 
his  mind  was  no  alembic  to  transmute  his  erudition 
into  something  worthy  of  a  scholar's  respect.  The 
energy  required  to  make  a  scholar  and  that  to  make 
a  successful  man  of  affairs,  not  so  different  after 
all,  which  were  united  in  Seneca,  were  unitedly 
absent  from  the  make-up  of  Claudius.  In  Seneca's 
regard  for  Claudius,  there  was  the  inevitable  con- 
tempt of  the  competent  for  the  incompetent  in 
high  place.  Diderot  remarks.  Si  f  avals  tm  re- 
proche  a  f aire  a  S^n^qice  ce  7ie  serait  pas  d' avoir 
^crit  rApoIoqtmitose  \_sic],  ou  la  metamorphose  de 
Claude  en  citroiiille ;  mais  d'en  avoir  compost 
Voraison  ftmkbre. 

It  is  a  somewhat  crude  assumption  that  Seneca's 
philosophy,  elevated  as  it  seems,  must  have  checked 


30  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

him  from  writing  a  piece  like  the  Ludus,  We 
remind  ourselves  from  Tacitus  ^  that  he  had  a  tem- 
perament amoenuni  et  temporis  eitis  auribiis  adcom- 
modatum,  Quintilian,  though  speaking  apparently- 
only  of  his  oratorical  style,^  characterized  him  as 
having  more  ability  than  judgment.  His  philoso- 
phy was  really  not  so  far  from  opportunism,  after 
all.  There  is  no  occasion  for  charges  of  hypocrisy, 
disclosed  by  an  indiscreet  bit  of  satire;  though 
there  is  temptation  in  the  fancy  that  when  the 
philosopher  dons  the  motley  he  finds  that  his 
jester's  garments  reveal  more  of  his  natural  shape 
than  did  his  long  and  enveloping  philosopher's 
cloak.  Boissier,  however,  studying  Seneca  with  a 
sympathetic  acuteness,  says  of  him :  Ses  ouvrages 
en  rejlechissent  toutes  les  emotions  ;  au  fond  de  ses 
penshs  les  plus  gMrales^  il  est  facile  de  voir 
V influence  des  ^venements  qii'il  a  traverses ;  son 
stoicismcy  qui  semble  d'abord  si  rigoureux^  ne  fait 
que  mettre  en  priceptes  les  n^cessites  du  moment  oic 
il  ecrivait? 

There  is  even  a  curious  aptness  in  the  fact  that 
the  one  satire,  the  one  great  literary  joke,  of 
Seneca  should  be  a  Ludus  de  morte^  a  monu- 
mentally ridiculous  death,  when  we  recall  that 
one  great  burden  of  Seneca's  serious  philosophy 
was  dignity  in  face  of  the  final  necessity  of  man- 
kind.    Garat,   writing  under  the   shadow   of   the 

^  Ann.  xiii.  3.  ^  Jnst.  x.  i,fin» 

*  V  Opposition  soiis  les  Cesars,  p.  208. 


THE   QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  3 1 

guillotine  in  the  Reign  of  Terror,  may  have  mis- 
judged his  author  as  well  as  his  own  time,  but  he 
said :  //  ne  nous  restait  plus  alors  a  tons  qu'une 
seule  chose  a  apprendre :  a  mourir.  Cest  la  presque 
toute  la  p  kilo  sop  hie  de  Shihque.  If  for  the  Ludus 
were  to  be  supposed  a  haec  fabula  docet,  it  would 
be  the  absurdity  of  imagining  an  heroic  death  to 
crown  a  ridiculous  life. 

Considerations  like  some  of  these  must  be  laid 
over  against  the  offence  which  the  publication  of 
a  lampoon  against  a  dead  man  gives  to  the  modern 
sense  of  propriety.  Nil  nisi  bomint  de  mortuis 
can  obviously  not  be  claimed  as  a  modern  inven- 
tion, but  it  is  an  idea  that  has  perhaps  gained 
increase  of  sanction  with  the  lapse  of  time.  The 
effect,  too,  of  the  difference  in  freedom  upon  our 
point  of  view  in  such  matters  is  inevitably  very 
great.  In  Seneca's  time,  it  was  commonly  out  of 
the  question  to  say  what  one  thought  of  an  emperor, 
unless  indeed  hypot helically ^  until  after  his  death. 

Practically  this  is  the  way  in  which  we  must  dis- 
pose of  the  incongruity  between  the  Ludus  and  the 
Consolatio  ad  Polybium,  The  latter  is  in  great 
part  a  not  specially  noteworthy  piece  of  work. 
Written  as  a  consolation  to  the  emperor's  literary 
secretary,  Polybius,  upon  the  death  of  his  brother, 
it  contains  the  usual  Stoic  observations  upon  the 
inevitableness  of  death,  some  sensible  advice  about 
diverting  himself  from  his  grief  by  busying  him- 
self with  his  work,  and  a  good  deal  of  allusion  to 


32  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

his  high  station  and  the  pleasure  of  being  able  to 
perform  the  duties  which  he  owed  to  Caesar.  But 
then,  at  about  chapter  12,  the  writer  breaks  out  in 
an  effusion  of  admiration  upon  that  luminary  and 
of  devoted  prayers  for  his  long  continuance  in  the 
world,  which  would  be  astonishing  from  any  Stoic 
philosopher  whatever,  not  to  specify  one  who 
was  in  exile  by  decree  of  the  very  prince  he  was 
describing,  and  who  was  known  to  have  disliked 
him,  even  if  we  forget  the  satire  which  affords  so 
visibly  ludicrous  a  contrast.  The  incongruity  is 
so  glaring  that  Ruhkopf  even  denied  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  Consolatio  ad  Polybium.  But  there 
are  more  plausible  suppositions  to  make,  and  since 
the  work  is  generally  accepted  as  his,  we  must  take 
it  as  a  difficulty  to  be  explained  if  Seneca  is  also 
to  be  left  with  the  authorship  of  the  Ludiis. 

There  are  a  few  unobtrusive  remarks  in  this 
Consolatio  which  reveal  its  intention.  In  chapter 
xiii,  after  praying  for  Claudius's  triumphs  in  the 
North,  he  adds,  quonim  me  quoqtte  spectatorem 
futurum^  quae  ex  virtutibtis  eius  primum  obtinet 
locuniy  promittit  dementia.  Presently,  congratulat- 
ing even  the  exiles  of  Claudius's  reign,  he  addresses 
him  with  the  words  :  per  te  habent  tit  forttmae 
saevientis  modiim.  ita  spem  quoqtie  ^nelioris  eitisdent 
ac  praesentis  qiiietem.  At  the  very  end,  Seneca 
apologizes  for  the  possible  poverty  of  his  consola- 
tions to  Polybius  with  the  plea :  Cogita  qtiam  nan 
possit  is  alienae  vacare  consolationi,  quern  sua  mala 


THE   QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  33 

occupattim  tenent^  et  quam  non  facile  Latina  ei 
homini  verba  siicciirrant  quefn  barbarorum  incon- 
dittos  et  barbaris  qiioque  humanioribus  gravis 
fremitus  circumsonat. 

This  is  evidently  the  vital  point  of  the  whole 
piece.  It  is  a  touching  hint  which  there  was 
reason  to  hope  might  be  repeated  where  it  would 
do  the  most  good.  That  the  touch  apparently- 
missed  its  effect  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  ques- 
tion of  inconsistency  between  this  bit  of  literary 
work  and  the  Ludus. 

This  particular  contrast  suggests  the  others  be- 
tween Seneca^s  life  and  philosophy,  which  have 
been  often  and  amply  enough  dealt  with.  The 
spectacle  of  the  witty  preacher  of  the  beauties  of 
philosophic  detachment  rolling  in  a  material  opu- 
lence so  enormous  as  to  stir  the  envy  of  distant 
provinces,  the  professed  teacher  of  virtue  lend- 
ing his  artistic  aid  to  some  of  the  monumental 
hypocrisies  of  Nero's  meretricious  reign,  though  it 
all  gives  picturesqueness  to  Seneca's  character, 
has  been  a  good  deal  blamed.  He  has  even  been 
charged  with  dishonor  for  remaining  at  all  at  a 
court  and  in  a  capital  whose  morals  we  may  sup- 
pose to  have  been  so  distasteful  to  him.  But  it 
seems  evident  that  he  loved  Rome  and  life  in  the 
great  capital  with  all  the  ardor  of  an  adopted 
provincial  of  the  first  generation.  Here  lies  the 
cause  of  much  of  his  bitterness  against  the  man 
who  had  sent  him  into  exile.     There  is  no  real 


34  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

need  of  undertaking  to  defend  his  inconsistencies. 
Evidently  to  call  the  emperor  a  star  of  blessing  to 
the  world,  while  he  is  alive,  a  paragon  of  every 
excellence  amply  filling  a  place  of  almost  super- 
human responsibility,  and  then  to  heap  mockery 
upon  the  memory  of  his  notorious  defects  as  soon 
as  he  is  dead,  is  a  performance  open  to  criticism. 
But  we  must  admit  that  there  was  a  good  deal  of 
temptation.  Havet's  judgment  is  more  just  than 
that  of  many  of  Seneca's  critics :  Je  ne  crois  pas 
que  rien  soil  phis  fait  que  ces  deux  lectures ^  ainsi 
rapprochees  Vune  de  V autre,  pour  inspirer  le  d^goM 
du  despotism.  It  was  a  time  when  tactful  flattery 
was  one  of  the  few  means  for  getting  on  in  the 
world.  Honorable  modes  of  dealing  were  at  a 
disadvantage. 

And  it  may  be  that  Seneca  cared  less  for  the 
realization  of  high  ideals  in  life  than  for  the  formu- 
lation of  the  ideals  themselves  as  such.  He  had 
the  strong  man's  controlling  tendency  toward  self- 
realization,  arriving  at  something.  He  satisfied 
this  ideally  by  the  artistic  expression  of  his 
thoughts.  Practically  he  secured  influence  and 
afifluence  by  the  only  means  possible.  Sincerity 
and  hypocrisy  are  terms  much  less  worth  con- 
troversy in  the  minds  of  some  men  than  others, 
and  the  philosophy  of  subtle  distinctions  or  even 
of  showy  paradoxes  is  perhaps  not  specially  apt 
to  breed  heroes.  The  Stoic  doctrine  of  "living 
according  to  nature"  would  indeed  scarcely  bear 


THE    QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  35 

the  interpretation  that  one  should  always  take 
whatever  means  are  naturally  adapted  to  produce 
the  desired  results,  though  Seneca  himself  remarks 
{De  Const,  Sap,  xiv.  2)  of  the  wise  man  dealing  with 
adversity,  ilium  .  .  .  tamquam  canem  acrem  obiecto 
cibo  leniet^  nee  indignabiticr  aliqniel  impendere,  tit 
limen  transeat,  eogitans  et  in  p07itibiis  qidbusdam 
pro  transitu  dart.  But  still  he  may  have  con- 
sidered that  the  man  who  lets  his  ideals  interfere 
with  his  getting  on  makes  rather  a  sorry  figure  in 
the  world. 

Perhaps  there  really  is  a  certain  moral  bookish- 
ness  in  a  good  deal  of  the  reprobation  that  has 
been  addressed  to  his  rather  unheroic  methods  of 
smoothing  his  path  to  an  end  desired.  Unfortu- 
nately for  his  standing  with  posterity,  Seneca  com- 
posed his  flattery  so  artistically  that  as  literature 
it  survived  the  occasion  which  called  for  such  a 
lubricant.  Then  when,  after  Claudius's  death,  the 
practical  man  of  letters  was  tempted  both  pru- 
dently to  relieve  his  mind  and  amuse  himself  at 
the  expense  of  the  new  occasion,  that  also  he  did 
so  entertainingly  as  to  leave  material  for  an  un- 
fortunate parallel. 

There  is  another  way  of  explaining  the  Consola- 
tio  ad  Polybium.  Diderot  has  maintained,  in  the 
Essay  already  cited,  that  the  adulations  in  the 
piece  are  all  ironical.  He  argues  from  the  char- 
acter of  it  that  Seneca  could  not  have  written  it 
with  the  serious  intention  to  be  inferred  from  its 


36  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

face.  Dio  Cassius  says,  apparently  of  this  work, 
that  in  later  life  he  was  ashamed  of  it  and  destroyed 
it.^  What  we  have,  then,  says  Diderot,  either  was 
written  later  by  some  one  to  injure  him,  or  was, 
supposing  the  genuine  one  to  have  survived  in 
spite  of  Seneca's  efforts,  entirely  satiric.  Sum- 
ming up  the  discrepancies  between  this  and  the 
Apocolocyntosis,  he  adds :  Si  la  reponse  que  fai 
faite  a  ces  reproches  n'est  pas  solide,  il  ny  en  a 
point. 

This  is  simple,  but  hardly  convincing.  At  the 
same  time,  the  unprejudiced  reader  who  is  familiar 
with  Seneca  elsewhere  will  be  likely  to  have  a 
series  of  easily  graded  impressions  in  regard  to  its 
references  to  Caesar.  First  he  meets  merely  polite 
allusions  to  the  emperor,  in  whose  service  Polybius 
was  an  important  functionary.  There  are  shades 
of  the  irony  of  the  man  out  of  court  favor,  the 
philosopher's  sour  grapes,  and  a  hint  perhaps  for 
an  afterthought  in  the  persistent  tendency  to  iden- 
tify Claudius  with  fortune,  a  notoriously  capricious 
divinity;  till  presently  the  writer's  own  repeated 
allusions  carry  him  over  into  a  burst  of  sarcasti- 
cally fulsome  enthusiasm  for  the  emperor  to  whom 
Seneca  himself  owed  so  little  gratitude.  It  is 
restrained  with  sufficient  finesse  within  the  bounds 

1  Dio,  Ixi.  lO:  .  .  .  toiJs  re  Ko\(kKe{)ovT6.<i  Tiva  dLa^dWujv  ovtcj 
TT]v  MeaaaXivav  Kal  roifs  KXavdiov  i^eXevOipovs  iOdoirevaev  ware  Kal 
^L^Xiov  <7<f)i<TL  iK  TTJs  vrf}crov  w^fixpaif  iwatvovs  avrwp  ^x^^>  ^  Aterd 
raOra  vtt  alax^^V^  dinfjXeLxpe. 


THE   QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  37 

of  external  plausibility,  and  the  motive  for  it  all 
appears  in  the  writer's  modest  hope  to  "be  there 
to  see"  the  glories  he  has  in  mind. 

But  that  Seneca  later  tried  in  shame  to  destroy 
the  Consolatio  is  a  contradiction  of  its  claim  to  be 
an  absolutely  academic  satire.  This  is  a  character 
which  it  seems  best  to  assume  for  it  in  a  modified 
way,  admitting  the  practical  motive  that  Seneca 
had  to  serve.  The  piece  may  easily  have  been 
finely  ironic  for  the  satisfaction  of  his  own  inner 
consciousness,  while  cynically  unscrupulous  to  the 
half -discerning  public.  The  apology  must  simply 
pass  for  what  it  is  worth,  in  accounting  for  the 
incongruities  between  what  Seneca  had  to  say 
about  Claudius  in  the  Consolatio  and  in  the  Apocolo- 
cyntosis.  And  it  is  quite  possible  that  Seneca  may 
have  been  inclined  to  even  greater  bitterness  against 
Claudius  in  the  latter,  through  the  shame  that  he 
felt  for  the  vain  flatteries  of  the  former. 

Next  comes  the  objection  that  such  a  satire  as 
this  was  a  reflection  upon  the  whole  Roman  admin- 
istration, and  inconceivable  from  a  man  in  so 
intimate  a  relation  to  the  government  as  Seneca, 
who  was  understood  to  have  written  the  very  eulogy 
which  the  young  Nero  pronounced  at  the  funeral 
of  the  late  emperor.  On  the  face  of  the  situation 
there  might  seem  to  be,  indeed,  as  Stahr  suggests,^ 
danger  of  affront  to  the  surviving  authorities,  in 
thus   satirizing   the   solemn   governmental  act  of 

1  Agrippinay  p.  335.     II.  Abth.  ii.  2,  Der  Verfasser,^ 


38  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

Claudius's  deification.  But  we  must  take  into 
account  both  the  temper  of  the  public  mind  and 
the  particular  propensities  of  the  powers  that  hap- 
pened at  the  moment  to  be.  To  such  legalists 
as  the  Romans,  so  long  as  the  proper  thing  was 
formally  and  officially  done,  the  underlying  feel- 
ings involved  in  it  were  of  less  account;  this  is 
evident  enough  in  the  common  attitude  of  the 
upper  classes  toward  the  national  religion  at  this 
period.  Caligula's  crazy  performances  as  a  divinity 
obviously  brought  the  whole  idea  of  the  imperial 
deification  into  a  degree  of  disrepute,  undermining 
whatever  dignity  attached  to  its  first  august  sub- 
jects. Of  this  change  of  sentiment  the  government 
did  not  of  course  take  cognizance.  That  the  habit 
of  the  apotheosis,  however,  was  being  carried  to 
excess,  we  need  not  go  so  far  ahead  as  Lucian's 
satires  ^  or  Julian's  humorous  display  of  the  defects 
of  his  deified  predecessors,  for  expressions  of  the 
opinion.  It  was  only  twenty-five  years  after  Clau- 
dius that  the  dying  Vespasian  cynically  observed,^ 
VaCyputOy  deusjio.  If  a  sober,  bourgeois  old  cam- 
paigner of  an  emperor  could  feel  disposed  to  this 
kind  of  a  joke  on  his  death-bed,  the  idea  must  have 
been  common  enough  to  acquit  a  free-thinking 
philosopher  of  any  especial  irreverence,  even 
toward  the  government,  in  dealing  frivolously  with 
the  formal  solemnity  of  a  consecratio  so  unen- 
thusiastic  as  this  of  Claudius. 

1  See  p.  74  seq,  ^  Suet.  Vesp.  23. 


THE   QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  39 

And  who  were  the  government  that  should  take 
umbrage?  Nero's  half -real,  half-affected  dislike 
for  the  weariness  of  officialdom  went  along  with 
his  passion  for  art  as  his  sphere  of  interest.  Set 
speeches  on  government  business  he  got  somebody 
else  to  write  for  him,  while  he  was  busy  with  music 
and  poetry,  or  amused  himself  with  nocturnal  es- 
capades of  a  quite  irresponsible  character.  He  was 
no  man  to  scruple  at  the  enjoyment  of  a  privately 
circulated  skit  Hke  the  Apocolocyntosis, — indeed,  we 
have  the  well-known  joke  of  his  own  making  on  the 
subject,  not  to  mention  his  insulting  pun  on  the 
word  morariy  Agrippina,  as  we  have  seen,  too,  had 
ample  reason  to  appreciate  a  bit  of  literature  that 
would  tend  to  weaken  the  prestige  of  Claudiuses 
son  Britannicus,  and  so  strengthen  Nero*s  question- 
able position  upon  the  throne.  There  has  been 
ambiguity  in  the  views  of  the  critics  upon  this  point. 
It  is  cited  in  argument  against  Seneca's  authorship 
of  the  satire;^  and  yet  we  know  that  he  was  counted 
upon  by  Agrippina  to  render  service  to  her  ambition 
for  Nero,  even  from  the  time  of  his  recall  from 
Corsica.  The  fact  is  certainly  pertinent  that  the 
crimes  with  which,  in  the  course  of  the  satire,  the 
unhappy  Claudius  is  charged,  both  in  Heaven  and 
in  Hades,  are  those  which  he  owed  to  Messalina 
and  the  freedmen.  Those  in  which  Agrippina  had 
a  hand  were  either  ignored  or  left  to  the  vaguest 

^  Suet.  Neroy  33. 

2  Stahr,  Agrippina,  pp.  335-337. 


40  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

allusion.  There  seems  to  be  one  exception,  —  the 
death  of  Claudius's  prospective  son-in-law,  L.  Si- 
lanus,  which  we  know  was  intended  to  secure  the 
marriage  of  the  emperor's  daughter  Octavia  to 
Nero.  The  motive  is,  of  course,  unmentioned  here ; 
and  the  fact  of  Silanus's  downfall  on  a  trumped-up 
charge  is  ingeniously  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the 
writer's  situation,  Claudius's  part  in  the  case  being 
criticised  in  the  heavenly  senate  house,  not,  for- 
sooth, because  the  charge  was  untrue,  —  in  fact  its 
truth  is  taken  for  granted ;  Vitellius,  who  made  it, 
was  still  living,  —  but  because  its  punishment  in- 
volved a  reflectioi^  upon  the  code  of  ethics  prevail- 
ing in  heaven.  This  was  a  joke  which  Agrippina 
had  abundant  cause  to  appreciate. 

We  do  not  have  to  maintain,  however,  that  our 
author  made  no  mistakes.  We  must  not  be  betrayed 
by  our  defence  of  the  thesis  that  Seneca  wrote  the 
Ludtis  into  an  attempt  to  explain  away  everything 
that  looks  like  imprudence  or  bad  judgment.  There 
was  another  side  to  the  matter  we  have  been  dis- 
cussing. Amusing  and  acceptable  as  the  Apocolo- 
cyntosis  might  be  to  the  ruling  powers  for  the 
moment,  it  involved  in  many  ways  a  real  affront 
to  the  dignity  of  the  Caesars.  Such  a  jest  as  the 
allusion  to  Crassus,  tarn  fatuum  ut  etiam  regnare 
posset,  would  be  apt  to  leave  an  after-taste  in  any 
imperial  mouth.  And  as  to  Agrippina,  if  the  phrase 
quid  in  suo  cubiculo  faciaty  in  chapter  8,  really 
prefers  to  the  irregularity  of  Claudius's  marriage  to 


THE    QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  4 1 

her,  as  it  is  commonly  taken  to  do,  it  seems  to  mark 
a  strange  perversity  of  imprudence  on  the  part  of 
the  author.  The  reasons  urged  comically  in  heaven 
in  defence  of  Silanus  (c.  8)  were  those  really  offered 
in  the  Senate  by  VitelHus  in  favor  of  the  marriage 
of  Agrippina.  I  think  that  this  particular  reference 
can  be  otherwise  plausibly  explained ;  but  a  remark 
of  Havet  is  so  true  of  Seneca  in  general,  and  so 
useful  to  keep  as  an  hypothesis  in  reserve,  that  it 
is  worth  quoting  here :  Ces  gens  d' esprit  ont  beau 
itre  souple  jtcsqiC a  compromettre  leur  dignity :  il y  a 
dans  V esprit  mime  des  hommes  de  lettres  je  7ie  sais 
quoi  d' indocile  et  de  frondeiir  qni  les  condamne  d 
bless er  tout  en  Jlattant.  lis  ont  besoin  d'etre  ap- 
platidiSy  et  lafotde  n'applaudit  qicautant  que  V^cri- 
vain  trouve  le  mot  vif  qui  satisfait  la  conscience  du 
public  et  la  siefine  mime. 

The  alleged  discrepancies  between  particulars  in 
the  Apocolocyntosis  and  the  character  of  Seneca's 
writings  elsewhere,  for  the  most  part  do  not  need 
to  be  taken  very  seriously.  The  gibe,  for  instance, 
at  Claudius's  desire  to  make  toga-clad  citizens  out 
of  Gauls,  Britons,  Spaniards,  and  Germans  —  not  to 
mention  the  outlandish  nations  of  the  frozen  North 
—  is  cited  as  one  of  the  things  that  could  not  have 
come  from  the  cosmopolitan-minded  Seneca,  who 
with  such  a  modern  point  of  view  considered  man 
as  man  above  the  distinctions  of  citizenship.  Here, 
however,  we  have  our  author  voicing  the  traditions 
of  the  Roman  aristocracy.     Above  every  serious 


42  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

consideration  we  have  the  artist  making  fun,  not 
elaborating  political  philosophy,  and  he  is  present- 
ing to  imagination  chiefly  the  superficial  absurdity 
of  a  lot  of  barbarians  posing  in  a  strange  and  diffi- 
cult attire,  quite  as  modern  humorists  have  seen  a 
ridiculous  side  to  the  sometimes  maladroit  adoption 
of  civilized  garb  by  inexperienced  Polynesians 
under  the  leading  of  the  progressive  missionary. 
Seneca  was  broad  enough  in  his  political  sym- 
pathies, but  that  is  quite  a  different  matter  from 
desiring  to  Romanize  all  the  rest  of  the  world, 
even  with  the  franchise;  for  this  was  largely  a 
question  of  taste. 

Then  there  is  the  taunt  of  Claudius's  provincial 
birth,  apparently  so  inconsiderate  from  the  Cor- 
dovan Seneca.  But  in  Claudius's  case  there  was 
special  provocation,  in  the  species  of  apostolic  suc- 
cession which  it  seems  to  have  been  one  of  his 
hobbies  to  establish  for  the  history  of  his  house, 
and  which  is  alluded  to  here  in  his  Homeric  verse 
of  introduction.  And  as  to  the  general  ineptitude 
of  a  Spaniard's  ridiculing  Claudius's  liberality  to 
provincials  and  his  birth  in  Gaul,  if  such  a  plane 
of  human  nature  is  involved  at  all,  this  kind  of 
jealousy  is  quite  as  likely  to  appear  in  a  notiveaii 
venu  as  in  one  to  the  manor  born.  As  M.  Boissier 
has  remarked,^  in  speaking  of  the  Spanish  predom- 
inance in  the  Roman  literature  of  the  Silver  Age, 
Les  Espagnols  ont  resiste  les  Remains  pcndartt  detix 

1  Lecture,  5  Dec,  1898. 


THE    QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  43 

sihles  et  denii^  et  puis  Us  sont  deveniis  les  plus 
romains  de  tons. 

Mockery  of  Claudius's  bodily  defects  was  another 
matter  perhaps  unworthy  of  Seneca,  but  hardly  a 
proper  basis  for  deduction.  When  the  philosopher 
set  out  to  make  game  of  the  very  unheroic  applicant 
for  admission  among  the  gods,  he  could  scarcely 
be  expected  to  neglect  such  an  obvious  opportunity 
as  the  limp  and  stammer  which  supplemented 
Claudius's  stupidity.  This  is  simply  swallowed 
up  in  the  larger  question,  according  to  Coleridge's 
second  canon  of  criticism,  whether  the  whole  thing 
was  worth  doing  at  all. 

Such  particular  bits  of  misrepresentation  as  the 
gaudium  publicum  (c.  12)  at  Claudius's  death,  and 
the  alleged  manner  of  the  death  itself,  are  certainly 
no  evidence  at  all  against  Seneca's  authorship  of 
the  Ludus.  The  malice  involved  in  the  first  has 
been  already  admitted  for  him.  Both  inaccuracies, 
especially  the  choice  of  the  official  account  of 
Claudius's  death  instead  of  the  true  one,  would  suit 
Agrippina  and  her  circle,  and  point  to  rather  than 
away  from  Seneca  as  the  writer. 

If  we  look  for  references  to  Claudius  elsewhere 
in  Seneca's  works,  other  than  those  in  the  Consola- 
tio  ad  Polybium,  we  find  only  two,  both  of  them 
quite  consistent  with  the  aspect  of  which  the  Apo- 
colocyntosis  shows  a  caricature.  In  De  Beneficiis,  i. 
15,  5,  Seneca  quotes  with  approval  a  remark  of 
Crispus    Passienus,   Malo  divi  Attgtisti  itidiciunty 


44  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

malo  Claiidii  beneficium^  evidently  referring  to  the 
caprices  of  Claudius's  administration.  In  the  first 
book  De  dementia  (c.  23)  we  have  an  enlightened 
criticism  upon  Claudius's  stupid  legality.  Pater 
tuus,  Seneca  says  to  Nero,  p lures  intra  qtiinqiten- 
nium  ctileo  insuit,  quant  omnibus  seculis  insutos 
accepimuSy  and  goes  on  to  show  that  instead  of  re- 
pressing parricide  Claudius  simply  made  it  familiar. 
This  is  the  very  character  that  in  exaggerated  lines 
appears  in  the  Ludus, 

One  of  the  curious  allusions  here  is  that  to  the 
Osiris  cult,  with  the  words  evprjKafiev  avy')(^aLpco/jL€v.^ 
In  St.  Augustine's  De  Civ.  Deiy  vi.  10,  already  re- 
ferred to,  the  quotation  from  Seneca's  lost  work 
On  Superstitions  contains  a  reference  to  the  same 
subject,  which  is  interesting  as  another  indication 
of  Seneca's  temperament.  He  speaks  of  the  mad 
rejoicing  which  followed  the  feigned  discovery  of 
Osiris,  and  adds  :  Huic  tamen  .  .  .  furori  certum 
tempus  est,  Tolerabile  est  semel  anno  insanire. 
Apparently  when  he  wrote  of  Claudius's  entry 
into  Hades  he  thought  such  a  time  had  come  for 
the  wan  souls  of  the  late  emperor's  victims. 

Reference  already  made  to  Seneca's  modern 
point  of  view  brings  up  another  outcropping  in 
the  Apocolocyntosis  which  indicates  something 
nearly  related,  —  in  his  impHed  general  criticisms 
upon  the  government  of  his  country,  his  high-bred 
cynical  assumption  that  the  ruling  powers  will 
1  See  note,  c.  13. 


THE    QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  45 

naturally  be  rather  inferior  anyway,  considering 
the  essential  might  of  brutality.  It  is  that  attitude 
of  mild  irony  which  does  not  take  the  trouble  to 
protest.  Itaque,  he  says  (c.  6),  quod  Galhi^n  facere 
oportebaty  Romam  cepit,  a  most  adaptable  allusion. 
Compare  also  (c.  14)  Claudio  magis  iniqiium  vide- 
batur  qiiam  novum,  (c.  10)  in  caelo  7ton  fit,  and  the 
gentle  intimation  (c.  i)  of  the  functions  of  the 
superintendent  of  the  Appian  road.  These  things 
bring  to  mind  the  "  silk-stocking  '*  element  in  poli- 
tics, or  out  of  it,  which  is  at  least  as  modern  as  it 
is  ancient. 

On  the  question  of  the  relation  of  the  style 
of  the  Lndus  to  that  of  Seneca's  acknowledged 
writings,  the  critics  differ  among  themselves. 
Lindemann,  who  lays  as  much  stress  as  any  one 
upon  this  point  against  the  tradition,  repeats  the 
usual  description  of  Seneca's  ordinary  style,  as 
artificial,  antitheticis  fontinlis  concisa,  sententio- 
lanint  luminibiis  interstincta,  etc.,  while  the  style 
of  the  Ludus  is  quite  simple  and  natural :  7tihil 
artificiosnm,  nihil  quaesitunty  nihil  antitheticum, 
Hanc  differentianty  he  asks,  qtiis  est  qui  soli  scrip- 
tionis  generi  aut  argume^iti  rationi  tribuat?  The 
question  we  can  balance  with  the  remark  of  Haase, 
who  in  the  preface  to  his  edition  of  Seneca  ^  finds 
even  in  the  Ludus  sufificiently  characteristic  evi- 
dences of  Seneca's  style,  quamquam  in  eo  \i.e. 
Ltido']  res  ipsa  sifigularem  orationis  formam  desi- 

1  Teubner  ed.,  Vol.  I.  p.  vi. 


46  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

derabat,  in  qua  manifesta  est  Petronianae  sattcrae 
imitatio.  This  last  clause,  which  is  based  upon 
the  theory  of  an  earlier  date  than  is  now  generally 
accepted  for  Petronius's  Satiricon,  refers  to  a 
matter  that  may  be  passed  by  for  the  moment. 
We  have,  however,  a  sufficiently  broad  and  reason- 
able explanation  of  the  simple  colloquialism  which 
goes  along  with  the  humorous  tone  of  the  Apoco- 
locyntosis,  as  distinguished  from  the  careful 
elaboration  of  Seneca's  serious  works.  Heinsius 
went  much  farther,  and  considered  the  style 
quite  the  same.  As  for  the  verse  of  the  satire, 
it  is  generally  acknowledged  to  be  in  Seneca's 
manner. 

The  inference  against  the  tradition  of  Seneca's 
authorship  from  the  fact  that  no  other  Latin 
author  makes  any  mention  of  the  Ludus  among 
his  works  may  seem  to  have  more  weight  than 
belongs  to  it ;  for  neither  is  the  satire  mentioned  as 
among  the  works  of  any  one  else.  But,  of  course, 
it  is  objected^  that  Tacitus,  who  seems  to  have 
given  so  much  attention  to  Seneca  and  expressed 
very  distinct  judgments  upon  him,  regarding  him 
apparently  with  a  certain  distrust,  would  have  had 
something  to  say  about  a  work  so  open  to  moral 
criticism  as  this.  So  would  Suetonius,  full  of 
court  gossip  and  eager  to  seek  out  entertaining 
sidelights  upon  history.  And  as  for  Juvenal  and 
the  epistolatory  Pliny  and  the  rest,  it  seems  hard 
1  Stahr,  A^ip.  338-339- 


THE   QUESTION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  47 

to  suppose  that  none  of  them  would  have  referred 
to  an  article  of  this  kind  from  Seneca. 

But  while  it  has  a  certain  plausibility,  the  argu- 
ment is  based  upon  an  artificial  condition.  "  Latin 
literature  "  is  that  part  of  it  which  has  come  down 
to  us,  of  which  criticism  has  made  a  complicated 
system,  more  or  less  self-sufficient,  except  for  loose 
threads  like  the  present  one.  Every  surviving 
work  is  a  scholium  to  every  other.  The  whole 
mass  has  become  a  great  interlacing  maze,  threaded 
with  the  clews  traced  and  joined  by  mediaeval  and 
modern  scholarship.  This  is  in  many  respects  a 
highly  useful  condition  of  things,  but  it  is  not  to 
be  forgotten  that  the  extent  of  the  material  out  of 
which  it  is  constructed  is  in  great  part  accidental. 
In  the  great  quantities  of  literary  matter  which 
have  not  survived,  not  the  least  likely  to  be  engulfed 
was  the  literature  of  allusion  and  criticism.  The 
less,  therefore,  is  there  a  presumption  to  be  created 
by  the  mere  fact  that  we  find  no  reference  to  this 
satire  of  Seneca  in  that  part  of  the  Latin  literary 
output  that  we  have  left.  We  do  not  know, 
besides,  how  it  was  published  nor  whether  it  could 
have  gained  any  notoriety.  Add,  then,  the  fact 
that  in  the  greater  variety  of  the  whole  supply,  the 
Apocolocyfttosis  would  have  had  relatively  so  much 
less  importance  than  as  a  unique  specimen  it  holds 
in  the  present  residuum.  Even  an  objector  like 
Stahr  hints  at  the  hundreds  of  similar  pamphlets 
of  the  time,  —  a  possible  exaggeration.     But  we 


48  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

would  like  to  know  more  of  the  Mw/jwz/  iTravdcTa' 
(TL^y  in  regard  to  which  Suetonius  merely  excites 
our  curiosity.^  And  how  much  of  a  satire  was 
that  of  Aelius  Saturninus,  referred  to  in  Dio,  Ivii. 
22  ?  That  we  know  anything  at  all  of  even  a  re- 
spectable fraction  of  the  number  of  such  pamphlets, 
which  were  necessarily  limited  to  a  more  or  less 
private  circulation,  is  not  to  be  supposed. 

The  one  existing  ancient  reference  to  Seneca's 
satire,  however,  in  the  Greek,  as  it  has  come  to  us 
from  Dio  Cassius  (Ix.  35),  increases  rather  than 
diminishes  whatever  difficulty  there  was. 

After  Claudius's  murder,  says  Dio,^  Agrippina 
and  Nero  pretended  to  mourn,  and  sent  up  to 
heaven  him  whom  they  had  carried  out  from 
dinner.  This  was  the  occasion  of  a  very  clever 
witticism  by  L.  Junius  Gallio,  Seneca's  brother. 
Seneca  had  composed  a  piece  named  aTroKoXoKvv- 
Tcocn^;,  after  the  analogy  of  aTraOavdnai^^  but  his 

1  Claud,  38. 

2  Dio  Cassius,  Ix.  35 :  *  Ay  pLiririva  d^  Kal  6  N^/owv  irevdeiv  trpocre' 
TTOLovvTO  6v  dw €KT 6 Pea aVf  es  re  rbv  o^pavhv  av/jyayov  6v  iK  rod  cvfi- 
irociov  <l)opdd7}v  i^€V7}v6x€<Tav,  6dev  irep  Aoijklos  'IoIjvlos  TaWiuv  6 
Tov  Sej'^/ca  d8e\(pbs  affreLbrarbv  tl  direcpdiy^aTo  •  crvv^drjKe  ixkv  ydp 
Kal  6  "Zev^Kas  (T^yypafifxa  diroKoXoKTuvTiaaiv  avrb  wcnrep  tlvcl  diradavd- 
TLO-iv  dvofjidcas,  iKCivos  8^  iv  ^paxyrdrcp  iroWd  eiirojv  d'iroixv'rjixove{fe- 
rai.  iireidi]  ydp  roifs  iv  r$  8e(Tix(aT't)pi(fi  OavaTovpiivovs  dyKlcrrpois 
tl(tI  pieydXoLS  oi  di^p.LOL  es  re  rrjv  dyopdv  dveTXKOv,  Kavravd  is  rhv 
TTorapibv  €(Tvpov,  ccprj  rhv  KXai55io^  dyKlo-rpip  is  rhv  ovpavhv  dvevex^V' 
yai.  Kal  6  N^pwv  5^  oi5k  dTrd^tov  pLV^pirjs  iiros  KariXtire.  rot's  ydp 
p.ijK7}ras  deQv  ^pQfia  eXeyev  ehai  •  Sri  Kal  iKeivos  did  roO  /jl^ktjtos 
debs  iyeydvcL, 


THE  NAME  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS     '  49 

brother  expressed  a  great  deal  in  a  very  few  words. 
Recalling  how  the  bodies  of  those  who  are  executed 
in  prison  are  dragged  off  by  the  executioners,  with 
great  hooks,  to  the  Forum  and  thence  to  the  river, 
he  said  Claudius  had  been  dragged  up  to  heaven 
with  a  hook.  Nero's  joke,  too,  is  worth  recording. 
He  said  that  mushrooms  [/xu/cT^re?,  boleW]  must  be 
food  for  the  gods,^  since  by  eating  them  Claudius 
was  made  a  god. 

It  is  obviously  natural  to  suppose  that  this  men- 
tion of  a  satire  by  Seneca  on  the  apotheosis  of 
Claudius  refers  to  the  one  we  have.  Since  the 
time  of  Hadrianus  Junius,  who  was  the  first  com- 
mentator to  affix  the  name  Apocolocyntosis  to  the 
published  satire,  this  has  been  commonly  done. 
The  great  difficulty  is  that  not  only  do  none  of  the 
manuscripts  give  it,  but  in  the  piece  as  we  have  it 
there  is  no  visible  point  to  which  the  title  can  attach 
itself.  The  objectors  say,  too,  that  the  present 
satire  is  not  at  all  the  one  which  would  be  expected 
from  the  rest  of  Dio's  statement.  The  other  witti- 
cisms which  he  quotes  relate  to  the  manner  of 
Claudius's  taking  off,  and  therefore,  say  Riese^ 
and  Stahr,^  Seneca's  also  must  have  been  based 
upon  this.  They  even  offer  to  sketch  what  the 
true  Apocolocyntosis^  must  have  contained,  keine 
keftigen  Angriffe,  as  Riese  says,  wederaiif  Claiiditts 


1  Cf.  Suet.  Nero,  33.  «  pp.  341-343- 

2  pp.  321-322.  *  See  also  Birt. 


50  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

noch  aiif  Nero,  .  .  .  but  with  some  intimation  of  the 
manner  of  Claudius's  death. 

The  inference,  while  plausible,  is  hardly  convinc- 
ing. Both  of  the  other  two  reported  witticisms  hint, 
it  is  true,  at  Claudius's  assisted  demise,  but  they 
really  depend  upon  the  essential  ridiculousness  of 
his  deification.  As  to  the  method  of  his  departure, 
those  other  jests  may  easily  have  been  of  later  date 
than  Seneca's,  when  frankness  would  have  been  less 
imprudent  than  immediately  after  the  event.  There 
is,  however,  more  nearly  a  parallel  than  I  have  seen 
pointed  out  between  our  satire  and  both  Gallio's  and 
Nero's  jokes  over  Claudius's  entrance  into  Olym- 
pus. Granting  merely  the  initial  difference,  that 
Nero  and  Gallio  based  their  wit  upon  the  true  story, 
and  Seneca  upon  the  official  story,  of  Claudius's 
death,  we  find  Gallio  remarking  that  the  defunct 
emperor  was  dragged  to  heaven  with  an  execution- 
er's hook,  and  Nero  that  mushrooms  sent  him  there; 
while  Seneca  gives  us  the  picture  of  Claudius  limp- 
ing up  with  Fever  to  attend  him,  —  quae  fano  sico 
relicto  sola  cum  illo  venerat :  ceteros  omnes  deos 
Romae  reliquerat,  —  certainly  not  a  dignified  man- 
ner of  introduction,  and,  in  its  way,  quite  analogous 
to  the  others. 

The  problem  of  the  applicability  of  the  title 
mentioned  by  Dio  to  the  work  which  we  have,  re- 
quires more  attention.  The  word  airoKoXoKvvTCDai^ 
must  mean  transformation  into  a  gourd,  "pump- 
kinification,"   as  it   is  anachronistically  rendered. 


THE  NAME  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  5 1 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  give  it  the  contrary- 
sense.  Baillard,  among  others,  in  a  note  to  his 
translation,  calls  it  a  mot  forg^  qui  veut  dire  :  apo- 
the  OS  e  d'une  citrotiille,  et  iion  pas  Metamorphose  {de 
Claude)  en  citrouille,  com^ne  on  Vinterprdtait  jicsqiH 
ici,  contrairement  au  rdcit  de  Vaiiteur.  It  is,  indeed, 
contrary  to  the  narrative  in  our  satire;  but  there 
can  be  no  doubt  of  the  word  in  itself,  on  the  analogy 
of  airadavcLTKn^^  immortalization,  or  apotheosis,  dei- 
fication, or  any  of  the  series  of  similar  words. 

Some  of  the  commentators  have  sought  in  the 
word  KoXoKvvrr]  (Lat.  cucurbita)  a  reference  to  the 
vegetables  by  which  Claudius  perished ;  but  this 
is  really  out  of  the  question.  There  is  no  confusing 
of  boleti  with  the  common  gourd.  Still  less  to  be 
thought  of  is  the  idea  of  the  physician,  H.  Junius, 
that  it  was  a  playful  allusion  to  Claudius's  death, 
quasi  pharmaco  purgatorio,  quod  dim  frequens  e 
colocynthide  concijinabatur.  The  point  of  the  name 
lies  wholly,  so  far  as  any  evidence  we  have,  in  the 
fact  that  the  koXokvvttj  among  the  Greeks  and  the 
cucurbita  among  the  Romans,  like  the  cabbage-head 
among  us,  was  a  type  of  stupidity.^  In  this  sense 
of  it,  compare  Apuleius,  Metam.  i.  15,  Nos  cucur- 
bitae  caput  fion  habemus  tct  pro  te  moriamur.  Cf. 
Petron.  39,  i7i  aquario  \jiascuntur'\  copones  et  cucur- 
bitae.  Biicheler,  following  a  suggestion  of  Hein- 
sius,  quotes  also  Juv.  xiv.  58,  coupling  the  ventosa 
cucurbita  (cupping  glass  ?)  with  the  vacuum  cerebro 

1  Compare  also  the  French,  bete  comme  choux. 


52  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

.  .  .  caput.  B.  Schmidt^  says  that  in  modern  Greek 
e%€t  Ke^aki  fcoXoKvvOeviov  or  KoXoKwdevto  is  pro- 
verbial for  a  stupid  person. 

"  Immortalization  as  a  cabbage-head ''  is  then 
intelligible  enough  in  itself,  and  funny  enough  as 
applied  to  Claudius,  but  how  does  it  apply  to  the 
satire  that  we  have,  which  bears  no  sign  of  the 
title,  and  in  which  there  is  no  trace  of  such  a  trans- 
formation ?  It  is  conceivable  that  Seneca  may  have 
written  two  humorous  pamphlets  on  the  apotheosis 
of  Claudius,^  of  which  the  other,  the  av^^paiiiia 
with  the  title  ' KiroicoXoKvvTaxn^y  is  now  lost.  But 
this  way  of  disposing  of  the  difficulty  is  more 
simple  than  satisfactory. 

There  is  always,  of  course,  the  extra  chance  that 
the  joke  depended  for  its  contemporary  appreciation 
upon  some  slang  meaning  now  wholly  lost.  Cucicr- 
bita  may  have  had  some  special  application  which 
would  have  given  the  compound  title  the  force  of  a 
local  hit,  as  is  perhaps  the  case  in  Petronius*s  copo- 
nes  et  cucurbitae,  Friedlander  renders  the  latter 
sckropfkopfe,  "  cupping  glasses  "  (cf.  Juv.  xiv.  58), 
meaning  persons  who  bleed  or  fleece  one.  We  can 
imagine  occasions  when  the  word  might  have  been 
jestingly  applied  to  the  original  servitor  a  cog7ii- 
tionibus.  This,  however,  is  a  long  reach  after  an 
elusive  possibility. 

Practically  two  suppositions  remain  with  which 

1  Rh.  Mus.  N.  F.  33,  p.  637. 

2  Birt  inclines  to  this  theory. 


THE  NAME  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  53 

we  can  reasonably  deal,  (i)  The  name  Apocolo- 
cyntosis  was  perhaps  intended  to  have  merely  a 
suggestive  and  symbolic  application  like  the  titles 
of  some  modern  novels ;  or  (2)  it  may  have  been 
explained  by  something  in  the  text  now  lost,  either 
in  the  undoubted  lacuna  before  chapter  8  or  at 
the  end. 

According  to  the  first  supposition  the  author 
presumably  desired  to  hint  at  an  appropriate  dis- 
posal of  Claudius's  imbecility  which  would  have 
involved  going  too  far  for  even  the  writer  of  the 
Ltidiis  to  express  plainly ;  Claudius,  though  unre- 
vered,  was  still  the  officially  deified  emperor.  Such 
a  discreet  bit  of  indirection  would  be  well  suited  to 
an  author  in  Seneca's  position.  The  Greek  title 
might  easily  be  an  alternative  designation,  such  as 
several  of  Varro's  satires  had.  We  have  not,  of 
course,  the  data  for  saying  of  any  one  of  these 
groups  of  fragments  that  its  title  is  not  more 
literally  applicable  to  its  contents  than  is  aTro/co- 
\0KvvT(O(n<i  to  the  Liidus ;  but  in  such  a  title  as 
^Ktafiax^'a  or  TpioSm/?  TpcTrvXco^;^  or  the  Greek 
proverbs  which  are  so  frequent,  we  seem  to  get  a 
hint  of  something  in  the  same  manner. 

The  theory  that  the  title  given  by  Dio  found  its  ex- 
planation in  a  part  of  the  text  now  lost  has  had  va- 
rious supporters.  It  is  generally  assumed  that  the 
evident  break  between  chapters  7  and  8  marks 
the  loss  of  a  leaf  from  the  archetype  manuscript 
from  which  all  the  existing  copies  are  either  directly 


54  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

or  indirectly  derived.  Can  the  explanation  lie  here  ? 
In  the  interval  it  appears  that  Claudius  so  far  won 
over  Hercules  that  he  got  himself  led  into  the 
council  of  the  gods  with  that  doughty  champion 
as  his  sponsor.  It  is  conceivable  that  in  this  con- 
nection was  enacted  some  horse-play  suggestive  of 
the  name ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  it  could  be 
plausibly  done. 

A  suggestion  made  at  least  as  early  as  by  Box- 
horn  (1636),  and  recently  urged  by  Wachsmuth 
and  Friedlander,^  is  that  there  was  also  a  leaf  lost 
from  the  end  of  the  archetype  manuscript.  Fried- 
lander  is  quite  categorical :  Der  Schluss  des  Pas- 
quills  ist  verloren,  Wachsmuth  notes  particularly 
the  abruptness  of  the  concluding  sentences  of  what 
we  have,  and  the  hasty  and  apparently  unconsid- 
ered disposition  of  Claudius  at  the  end.  He  had 
been  condemned  to  one  thing  in  heaven  and  to 
another  by  Aeacus ;  then  comes  Gains  Caesar  and 
overthrows  that  judgment,  and  Claudius  is  ignomin- 
iously  passed  on  to  Menander,  with  whom  he  is  left 
in  the  capacity  of  a  clerk.  Wachsmuth  suggests 
that  through  Menander,  der  gross e  Menschenkenner^ 
Claudius's  stupidity  may  have  been  brought  to  its 
final  expressive  disposition  by  transformation  into 
an  actual  koXokvvtt],  the  cabbage-head,  so  to  say, 
being  thus  at  last  completely  evolved. 

This  is  a  logical  solution ;  but  apart  from  a  wish 
to  account  for  Dio's  title  there  is  not  to  my  mind 

1  But  not  Birt  or  Biicheler. 


THE  NAME  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  55 

any  apparent  incompleteness  in  the  sudden  and 
summary  way  in  which  Claudius,  after  having  been 
sentenced  for  the  failures  of  his  prosperity,  is  re- 
minded of  his  earlier  buffetings  and  thus  contume- 
liously  disposed  of.  Perhaps  the  account  would  be 
still  more  amusing  if  Claudius's  destiny  handed  him 
successively  down  till  his  vegetating  intelligence 
found  final  lodgement  in  the  most  characteristic  of 
vegetables.  But  the  actual  close  of  the  satire  does 
not  suggest  the  requirement  or  lack  of  any  such 
denouement.  The  abruptness  with  which  Claudius 
is  both  saved  from  even  the  parody  of  an  heroic 
punishment,  and  finally  dropped  in  a  properly 
ignominious  manner,  seems  to  mark  a  conscious 
anticHmax.  It  indicates,  perhaps,  a  weary  haste 
to  be  rid  of  the  subject,  or  perhaps  a  studied  hint 
that  in  the  disposition  of  an  accidental  potentate 
they  had  all  along  been  on  the  wrong  track ;  that 
there  was  really  only  one  thing  to  do  with  him,  — 
relegate  him  to  the  servile  subjection  of  his  youth. 
One  might  even  see  in  the  conciseness  of  the  few 
closing  sentences  some  intimation  of  the  style  which 
has  been  elsewhere  noted  as  a  brand  of  Seneca's 
craftsmanship. 

Biicheler  cites  against  the  theory  that  the  end  of 
the  satire  is  lost,  the  fact  of  the  subscription  at  the 
end  of  the  St.  Gall  manuscript.  This  also  some- 
what affects  the  probability,  though  as  the  loss,  if 
any,  occurred  before  the  existing  manuscripts  were 
made,  it  appears  that  the  subscription  could  have 


56  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

been  easily  supplied.     We  are  left,  on  the  whole, 
to  our  doubts. 

There  is  still  another  possibility  which  I  have 
not  seen  suggested.  Of  Dio's  inaccuracy  we  have 
already  had  one  apparent  example  in  his  reference 
to  what  Seneca  wrote  while  in  exile.  Speaking  ^  in 
terms  which  point  to  the  Consolatio  ad  Polybiuniy 
he  alludes  to  its  flatteries  of  **  Messalina  and  Clau- 
dius's freedmen,"  which,  except  in  the  case  of 
Polybius  himself,  do  not  occur  in  the  work  as  we 
have  it.  Now  possibly  the  statement  in  the  last 
paragraph  of  Dio's  book  on  Claudius  may  have 
arisen  in  a  fashion  something  like  this.  Seneca  had 
written  the  little  book ^  on  Claudius's  apotheosis, /^r 
saturaniy  and  then  he  or  some  one  else  made  a  re- 
mark to  the  effect  that  the  thing,  instead  of  being 
called  Deification,  ought  to  have  been  called  Pump- 
kinification.  The  joke  may  easily,  in  that  age  of 
limited  circulation,  have  become  more  known  than 
the  book  that  occasioned  it.  Brevity  is  not  only 
the  soul  of  wit,  but  also  its  feet  and  wings.  So 
Dio,  writing  many  years  later  of  a  work  then  prob- 
ably so  little  read  that  very  likely  he  had  no  more 
than  heard  of  it,  may,  in  mentioning  the  witticisms 
on  Claudius's  death,  have  called  the  book  Apocolo- 
cyntosis  from  a  loose  recollection  of  a  mere  conver- 
sational epithet.  Si  ciii  haec  coniectura  insolens 
videtur,  sciat  ille  alios  longe  alieniora  excogitasse^ 

1  Dio,  Ixi,  lo.     This  is,  however,  Xiphilinus. 

2  See  p.  66  on  evidences  of  its  hasty  composition. 


THE  NAME  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  57 

as  said  one  of  the  early  commentators  in  defending 
a  favorite  emendation. 

In  this  case,  however,  the  question  of  the  regular 
title  which  Seneca  gave  to  his  published  work  re- 
mains as  doubtful  as  ever. 

The  name  under  which  it  appears  in  most  of  the 
manuscripts  and  early  editions,  Ludiis  de  Morte 
Claudii  Caesaris^  is  met  with  objections.  Biicheler 
condemns  the  word  Indus  in  the  sense  in  which  it 
evidently  serves  here,  as  only  to  have  been  used 
by  some  ignorant  writer  of  the  mediaeval  period. 
It  is  certainly  not  ordinary  classical  usage,  but  for 
that  matter,  it  is  even  farther  removed  from  ordi- 
nary mediaeval  usage.  It  could  only  be  defended 
as  ancient  of  course  on  the  theory  that  it  was  a 
special  adaptation  from  the  common  use  of  the 
term  for  joking  and  raillery.  The  objection  made 
by  various  critics,  that  the  phrase  de  morte  makes 
this  title  a  misnomer,  seems  on  the  whole  of  Httle 
weight.  The  satire  is,  it  is  true,  only  in  small  part 
strictly  upon  the  death  of  Claudius,  but  it  is  wholly 
upon  the  occasion  of  it.  After  all,  however,  this 
name  reads  rather  Hke  a  designation  by  some  one 
else  than  a  title  applied  by  the  author.  As  Scheffer 
says,  in  an  apparently  vague  remark,  Simplicior  is 
titulus  videtur  qtiatn  ut  conveniat  operi  tarn  f also  et 
acuto.  It  seems  not  sufficiently  specific ;  more  like 
a  general  category. 

The  title  given  by  the  one  best  manuscript  ap- 
pears to  be  open  to  somewhat  the  same  criticism, 


58  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

though  it  may  be  nearer  the  original  th?.n  the 
other:  Divi  Claudii  Apotheosis  Annaei  Senecae 
per  saturam}  This  has  at  least  the  advantage  that 
it  could  more  easily  have  resulted  in  its  present 
form  from  a  copyist's  misunderstanding  of  the 
incomprehensible  Apocolocyntosis,  if  that  be  the 
original. 

Ill 

The  chief  purely  literary  interest  of  the  Apocolo- 
cyntosis  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  practically  the 
only  existing  specimen  in  classical  Latin  of  the 
Satura  Menippea,  the  claim  of  Petronius's  Satiricon 
to  the  name  being  at  least  debatable.^  Menip- 
pean  satire  is  a  type  for  the  definition  of  which  it 
is  needless  to  go  into  the  vexed  question  of  the 
beginnings  of  Latin  satire  in  general.^  Whether 
the  name  satura  originated  with  the  sort  of  thing 
that  Ennius  wrote,  or  whether  it  dates  back  to  an 
earlier  prototype  according  to  the  account  in  Livy, 
vii.  2,  we  have  in  hand  a  work  to  which  it  is  most 
satisfactory  to  apply  the  term  in  its  primitive  Latin 
sense;  for  it  is  obviously  a  medley.  We  may 
have  been  tempted  to  go  even  farther  and,  quot- 
ing Diomedes's  definition,^  cite  the  Apocolocyntosis 

1  See  p.  87.  2  See  p.  62. 

3  See  Hendrickson,  in  Am,  Jour,  of  Phil.  xv.  29;  Nettleship 
The  Ro7nan  Satura^  p.  35;   Leo,  in  Hermes^  xxiv.  67;   etc. 

*  Keil,  G.  L.y  i.  p.  486,  "...  Sive  a  quodam  genere  farciminis 
quod  .  .  .  multis  rebus  refertum  saturam  dicit  Varro  vocitatum."  Cf. 
Festus,  s.  V.  Satura^  p.  314  (Ed.  M.). 


MENIPPEAN  SATIRE  59 

among  the  writings  of  Seneca  as  a  kind  of  sausage 
among  the  more  ambrosial  viands  of  his  moral 
philosophy. 

It  is  at  any  rate  a  real  satire  according  to  almost 
any  definition  that  could  be  framed.  Notably  it  is 
a  satire  in  precisely  the  modern  sense.  Most  of 
the  classical  satires  are  something  else.  Petro- 
nius's  novel,  indeed,  may  be  nearer  our  idea  of  the 
matter,  but  its  intention  is  more  or  less  vague  and 
involved  in  the  interest  of  fiction.  But  in  the 
Apocolocyntosis  the  author's  ani7nus  is  never  in 
doubt,  unless  perhaps  in  the  lines  about  Nero, 
where  the  doubt  is  really  as  to  the  absence  of  the 
satirical  intention.  Assuming  the  genus,  then, 
what  is  the  differentia  of  the  species } 

As  a  literary  form  the  Sattira  Menippea  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  a  type  already  made  to  Seneca's 
hand,  defined  technically  as  a  medley  of  prose  and 
verse.  The  works  of  the  cynic  of  Gadara  from 
whom  it  got  its  name  we  know  only  by  tradition. 
The  satires  of  Varro,  who  introduced  the  form  into 
Roman  literature,  afford  us  only  fragmentary  evi- 
dence of  the  character  of  this  sort  of  composition. 
We  know  that  they  were  '*  Menippean  "  satires  that 
he  wrote,  for  that  was  the  name  that  he  gave  them, 
and  we  have  nothing  earlier  of  the  same  sort  with 
which  to  control  the  definition.  Both  in  form  and 
substance  they  seem  to  have  differed  much  from  the 
Lucilian  satires  and  to  have  been  more  in  the  spirit 
of  those  of  Ennius,  of  which,  however,  we  know 


60  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

even  less  than  we  do  of  Varro's  own.  If  we  accept 
the  convincingly  simple  etymological  explanation 
of  the  primitive  character  of  Latin  satura,  Varro's 
satires  seem  like  a  reversion^  to  the  type,  which 
through  Ennius  and  Lucilius  had  been  succeeded 
by  the  narrower,  more  special  thing  that  was  to 
culminate  rhetorically  in  Juvenal.  Varro  is  doubt- 
less to  be  credited  with  so  much  of  invention  as 
was  involved  in  the  adapting  of  the  Greek  model 
to  his  genial  requirements.  We  have  the  state- 
ment which  Cicero  makes  him  give,  in  the  Aca- 
demica  (i.  2,  8),  to  the  character  of  his  work :  Et 
tamen  in  illis  veteribtis  nostris  quae  Menippum 
imitati,  non  interpretati^  quadam  hilaritate  con- 
spersimusy  etc.  There  is  also  the  statement  of 
Macrobius  {Sat.  i.  ii,  42;  also  in  Gellius,  ii.  18), 
Menippus  .  .  .  cuius  libros  M,  Varro  in  satiris 
aemulatus  est,  quas  alii  *  cynicas,'  ipse  appellat  *  Me- 
nippeas'  These  are  our  evidences  for  Varro's  obli- 
gation to  Menippus.  Seneca's  obligations  to  Varro 
are  more  a  matter  of  inference. 

Biicheler  ^  has  argued  to  show  that  in  the  Apoco- 
locyntosis  we  have  an  example  of  the  very  kind  of 
thing  Varro  did.  He  recites  the  evident  facts:  that 
Varro  was  the  one  Roman  literary  model  for  the 
special  kind  of  satire  that  Seneca  was  writing,  the 
loosely  composed  skit  in  a  mixture  of  prose  and 
verse ;  that  Varro  at  least  once  wrote  such  a  satire 

1  See  Quintil.  Inst,  x.  i,  95. 

2  Rh,  Mus.  xiv. 


MENIPPEAN  SATIRE  6 1 

on  a  political  subject,  the  TpcKcipavo^,  on  the  first 
Triumvirate ;  that  many  of  his  satires  have  double 
titles,  one  part  Greek  and  the  other  Latin;  that 
the  scene  of  the  Apocolocyntosis  is  in  heaven,  while 
the  scenes  of  Varro's  satires  are  various  (and  so, 
apparently,  might  include  heaven);  that  there  is 
the  same  tendency  to  introduce  popular  saws  and 
moral  reflections;  that  there  is  in  both  the  imago 
antiquae  et  vernaciilae  festivitatis ;  the  frequent 
expressions  inadmissible  by  urbanitas  (such  as 
have  even  caused  the  genuine  antiquity  of  the 
Apocolocyntosis  to  be  doubted,  the  whole  thing 
being  ascribed  to  a  modern  Frenchman) ;  the  fre- 
quency of  quotations  from  the  Greek,  and  the 
general  patchwork  of  literary  allusions. 

There  are  certainly  these  important  points  of 
likeness  between  the  Apocolocyntosis  and  Varro's 
satires.  It  seems,  however,  hardly  necessary  to 
go  so  far  with  Biicheler  as  to  infer  from  Seneca's 
satire  the  average  length  of  Varro's  and  their  pre- 
vailing tone.  As  to  the  relative  proportion  of 
prose  and  verse  in  Varro,  the  inferences  that  have 
been  made  from  the  Apocolocyntosis  can  be  worth 
very  little.  And  even  in  their  general  character, 
so  far  as  we  can  judge,  Varro's  saturae  were  rather 
good-natured,  humorous  exhibitions  of  homely 
philosophy  meant  to  be  popular  and  helpful,  very 
different  from  this  direct  and  bitter  portrayal  of 
the  ridiculous  side  of  a  dead  incompetent  potentate 
against  whom  the  writer  had  a  grudge.     Besides, 


62  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

much  of  the  quahty  which  the  Apocolocyntosis 
shares  with  Varro's  satires,  it  must  have  derived 
from  a  common  source,  —  the  vigorous  wit  of  the 
racy  popular  speech,  such  as  is  also  found  in  the 
earlier  satirists.  While  Seneca's  satire  is  a  sample 
of  its  kind,  the  satitra  Menippea^  if  anything,  must 
be  supposed  to  have  been  a  sufficiently  flexible 
style  to  have  allowed  individual  variation  within 
the  limits  of  the  tradition ;  so  that  it  is  injudicious, 
as  it  is  unnecessary,  to  make  any  very  detailed 
inferences  as  to  the  characteristics  of  other  lost 
works  of  the  type. 

In  the  definition  of  Menippean  satire,  however, 
the  statement  that  it  is  a  mixture  of  prose  and 
verse  seems  to  require  a  certain  quahfication.  It 
is  not  enough  that  verse  should  be  introduced  into 
the  prose, —  this  is  true  of  Petronius's  novel  —  as 
by  way  of  quotation  or  dialogue  it  may  be  in  many 
sorts  of  composition.  We  find  here  the  writer 
himself,  speaking  in  his  own  person,  turning  from 
one  style  of  expression  to  another,  without  any 
visible  excuse  except  his  colloquial  mood.  The 
essence  of  the  Menippean  was  that  it  was  unre- 
strained and  varied  in  its  gait,  walking,  running,  or 
hobbling,  or  indulging  now  and  then  in  a  rhetorical 
hop-skip-and-jump.  This  is  quite  what  we  find  in 
the  Apocolocyntosis,  The  narrator  gives  the  date 
of  his  story  in  poetry,  then  explains  it  in  prose ; 
indulges  in  another  versified  performance  on  the 
subject  of  the  hour,  then  descends  to  the  most 


•. 


MENIPPEAN  SATIRE  63 

colloquial  of  dialogue.  For  the  more  pretentious 
account  of  the  spinning  of  destiny,  the  writer  turns 
to  metre  again.  A  little  farther  on,  Hercules 
declaims  like  a  tragedian  in  iambic  trimeter,  on 
top  of  some  forcible  remarks  in  by  no  means 
elegant  prose.  At  the  end  of  the  story  Claudius's 
futile  efforts  with  the  broken  dice-box  are  de- 
scribed in  hexameters  for  which  the  only  excuse 
seems  to  be  their  heroic  inappropriateness. 

And  so  it  is  with  the  shorter  bits  of  quoted 
verse.  A  touching  line  from  a  lost  tragedy  of 
Euripides  is  wrenched  from  its  connection  and 
capped  with  a  piece  of  slang.  Lines  from  Homer 
supply  Hercules  and  Claudius  with  their  mutual 
salutation,  and  the  author  with  his  sarcastic  com- 
ment. The  informaHty  with  which  the  quotations 
are  introduced  is  evidently  a  feature  of  the  move- 
ment. Of  them  all,  only  four  are  given  with  the 
names  of  their  authors  :  Homer  (c.  5),  Varro  (c.  8), 
Messala  Corvinus  (c.  10),  and  Horace  (c.  13).  The 
colloquial  use  of  bits  of  Greek  needs  no  comment. 
Tyrrell's  suggestion  that  this  in  Latin  corre- 
sponded to  our  use  of  French,  quite  expresses  its 
effect.  Such  a  phrase  as  non  passibtis  acquis  ^  was 
of  course  familiar,  as  we  say,  to  every  Roman 
schoolboy,  and  the  too  hackneyed  facilis  descensus 
Averjto'^  seems  to  be  recalled  in  Seneca's  descrip- 
tion of  the  same  journey  (c.  13),  omnia  proclivia 
sunt.     Augustus's  regretful  words,  legibus  urbem 

^  Aen.  ii.  724.  *  Aen.  vi.  126. 


64  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

fundavi{c,  lo),  seem  also  to  be  a  reminiscence  of 
the  prophecy  in  the  Aeneid,  vi.  8io. 

As  a  French  writer  ^  says,  in  speaking  of  Petro- 
nius,  C'etait  une  des  traditions  de  la  Menipp^e  de 
pas  ticker  des  morceatix  c^l^bres  et  d'imiter  la  ma- 
nihe  des  ^crivains  en  vue.  The  element  of  parody, 
however,  does  not  appear  here  chiefly  in  the  imita- 
tion of  any  particular  author.  Seneca  is  evidently 
mocking  the  prevailing  tendency  of  the  poetasters 
of  his  day  when,  as  he  introduces  his  hexameter 
lines  on  the  midday  hour,  he  explains  to  himself 
how  omnes  poetae  non  contenti  orsus  et  occasiis  de- 
scribere  .  .  .  etiam  medium  diem,  inqidetent :  tu  sic 
transibis  horam,  tam,  bonam  ?  And  in  the  verses 
just  before  he  seems  to  have  been  posing  for  the 
express  purpose  of  gently  poking  fun  at  poetical 
bombast  in  general:  Ptito  magis  intelligi — if  I 
give  the  date  in  plain  words.  There  is  the  same 
implication  in  the  tragicus  Jit,  with  which  he  sets 
off  Hercules  in  his  minatory  declamation  in  chap- 
ter 7.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  mental  attitude 
by  which  the  style  of  the  whole  satire  is  deter- 
mined. Until  the  author  gets  well  into  the  narra- 
tive, the  piece  promises  almost  to  be  a  play  with 
one  actor,  though  hardly  a  monologue.  According 
to  his  mood  he  mounts  the  bema  and  declaims,  or 
abruptly  comes  down  and  indulges  in  a  grimace. 

There  are  frequent  bits  of  dialogue  introduced 
into  the  story,  but  the  way  in  which  it  is  done 

1  CoUignon,  &tude  sur  Petrone^  p.  227. 


STYLE  65 

shares  more  or  less  in  the  prevaiHng  looseness  of 
structure.  Thus  in  nimis  rustice^  etc.  (c.  2),  the 
manuscripts,  at  least,  leave  us  to  wonder  whether 
the  narrator  is  talking  to  himself,  or  whether  some 
one  else  is  interrupting  him.  In  chapter  5,  what 
of  the  heavenly  janitor  whose  service  is  implied 
in  mintiatur  and  se  qiiaesissef  And  the  implied 
dispute  among  the  divinities  in  chapter  8  is  so 
vaguely  disposed  that  even  if  we  knew  the  per- 
sons, we  should  find  it  difficult  to  assign  the  objec- 
tions which  are  repeated  by  the  speaker. 

The  informality  is  quite  maintained  in  the  writer's 
fashion  of  deahng  with  the  gods.  His  Hercules, 
amiable  but  minime  vafer,  is  a  sample  of  what 
his  easy  urbanity  could  do  for  the  purpose  of  the 
moment.  Up  to  the  beginning  of  chapter  10,  the 
whole  affair,  excepting  the  long  poem  on  Nero's 
destiny,  is  pure  comedy.  Hercules,  Father  Janus, 
Diespiter,  a  little  of  the  comic  side  of  Jupiter,  and 
some  very  human  wrangling  compose  the  heavenly 
milieu  into  which  Claudius  seeks  admission.  But 
with  Augustus  comes  the  serious  indictment  of  the 
absurd  candidate  for  divine  honors.  The  amusing 
old  imbecile  becomes  a  criminal  laden  with  a  long 
series  of  evil  deeds.  The  odium  which  lay  behind 
the  ridicule  now  takes  the  front  place,  and  the 
action  hurries  along  with  too  obvious  bitterness  to 
the  end. 

In  the  nenia  of  chapter  12,  something  of  the 
same  transition  is  shown  on  a  reduced  scale.     The 


66  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

anapaests  begin  in  a  style  of  burlesque  eulogy, 
chiefly  praising  Claudius  for  the  very  qualities 
which  he  notoriously  lacked.  But  the  ironic  praise 
for  the  expeditiousness  of  his  judicial  performances 
(roughly  suggesting  Horace's  verse-maker  who 
could  make  two  hundred  verses  an  hour  while 
standing  on  one  foot)^  leads  easily  to  unpleasant 
intimations  of  offensive  facts,  which  interfere  with 
the  burlesque. 

In  parts  of  the  satire  this  transition  threatens  to 
wreck  the  literary  qualities  of  the  piece  as  a  whole. 
Augustus's  grievances  are  most  of  them  not  comic 
at  all.  The  tragedy  of  the  indictment  is  an  intru- 
sion, and  the  ridiculous  threatens  to  give  way  to 
the  intolerable.  But  if  the  author  for  a  moment 
seems  to  forget  himself  in  his  recollections,  or 
rather  his  art  in  his  purpose,  he  recovers  himself 
before  the  end  and  closes  with  a  desperately  comic 
descent. 

There  are  signs  that  the  unstudied  style  of  the 
Apocolocyntosis  is  not  merely  a  manner  assumed 
to  suit  the  type  of  composition,  but  that  the  piece 
actually  was  somewhat  hasily  composed,  —  a  fact 
which  might  help  to  account  for  the  application 
of  an  offhand  psychological  and  apparently  irrele- 
vant title.  For  instance,  in  chapter  3  Clotho  pro- 
poses to  send  Augurinus  and  Baba  on  to  Hades 
ahead  of  Claudius,  "  all  three  within  a  year,"  when 
the  supposition  at  the  beginning  is  that  Claudius 
1  Hor.  S,  i,  4,  9. 


STYLE  67 

is  already  in  the  throes  of  dissolution.  In  chap- 
ter 6,  ceteros  omnes  deos  Romae  reliqueraty  yet  pres- 
ently they  appear  to  be  all  in  heaven.  In  the 
same  chapter  occurs  the  remark,  Put  ares  omiies 
illins  esse  libertos^  while  only  two  other  persons 
are  mentioned  as  present,  Hercules  and  Fever; 
though  of  course  it  is  true  the  impersonal  indi- 
vidual implied  in  the  mintiatur  and  se  qiiaesisse 
of  the  preceding  chapter  may  have  returned.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  ninth  chapter  Claudius  is  ex- 
pelled from  the  senate  house,  and  yet  Augustus 
is  soon  addressing  him  as  if  he  were  present,  a 
very  apparent  oversight.  Such  minor  infelicities 
as  the  repetition  of  the  word  carpcbat  in  the  first 
metrical  passage  seem  also  best  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  same  cause,  the  lack  of  revision. 

One  of  the  characteristic  features  of  the  Menip- 
pean  satire  was  the  familiar  use  of  popular  prov- 
erbs. One  or  two  we  find  indicated  as  such ; 
more  are  simply  informally  pressed  into  service. 
Among  them  are  aiU  regent  atit  fatuum  nasci 
oportere  (c.  i),  Galium  in  siio  sterqtiilino  phirimum 
posse  (c.  7),  ferrum  stmm  in  igne  esse,  nianus 
manum  lavat  (c.  9),  corpus  dis  iratis  natnm,  tarn 
siniilem  sibi  qtiam  ovo  ovum  (c.  1 1 ).  Very  likely 
the  same,  or  possibly  coined  by  Seneca  himself, 
are  such  as,  facilius  inter  philosopJios  quam  i7iter 
horologia  conve^iiet  (c.  2),  nemo  felicitatis  suae 
obliviscitur  (c.  5),  ubi  mures  ferrum  rodunt  (c.  7), 
and  mures  w,olas  lingunt  (c.  8). 


68  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

Equally  redolent  of  the  jocularities  of  popular 
phraseology  are  such  expressions  as,  dicam  quod 
mihi  in  buccam  venerit^  nihil  nee  offensae  nee 
gratiae  dabitur,  seio  me  liberum  faetum^  velit  nolit, 
ita  ilium  salvum  et  felicem  habeam  (c.  i),  nemo 
enim  ttnquam  ilium  natum.  putavit,  in  semen  relin- 
qui  (c.  3),  si  qui  a  me  notorem  petisset  (c.  7),  dim 
.  .  .  magna  res  erat  deum  fieri:  iam  famam 
m.im.um  fecistis  (c.  9),  semper  m.eum  negotium  agOy 
non  posse  videtur  muscam  excitare,  tam  facile  — 
quam.  canis  adsidit  \excidit\  (c.  10),  servum  me 
ducat  (c.  11). 

Aulus  Gellius,  in  his  remarks  upon  Seneca^s 
style  {Noct.  Attic,  xii.  2),  doubtless  had  other 
matters  than  these  in  mind,  but  the  impression 
which  he  says  was  made  upon  some  critics  by  Sen- 
eca's oratio  .  .  .  vulgaris  .  .  .  et  protrita  and  eru- 
ditio  .  .  .  vernacula  et  plebeia  nihilque  ex  veterum 
scriptis  habens  neque  gratiae  neque  dignitatis ^  has  a 
superficial  aptness  here. 

Of  expressions  like  haec  ita  vera,  verbis  conceptis 
(c.  I ),  ego  tibi  dico,  quod  tibi  narrOy  mera  mendacia 
narrat  (c.  6),  no  do  hue  modo  illuc  (c.  9),  there  is 
really  nothing  to  be  said;  but  it  is  hard  to  avoid 
the  impression  that  in  chapter  6,  for  instance. 
Fever  is  addressing  Hercules  much  as  she  might 
an  anachronistic  "  Bowery  boy,"  who  threatens 
Claudius  in  a  way  very  much  in  character,  ne  tibi 
alogias  excutiam  (c.  7).  They  are  evidently  collo- 
quial;   similar   phraseology   can  be   accumulated 


STYLE  69 

from  Petronius,  Martial,  the  comedians,  and  Cice- 
ro's letters.  Parallels  of  this  kind  are,  of  course, 
not  to  be  taken  as  traces  of  mutual  indebtedness. 
They  simply  mean  that  different  authors  borrowed 
phrases  from  the  same  streets. 

From  a  similar  source  is  the  suggestion  of  uncul- 
tured tautology  in  such  statements  as  incipit  patro- 
nus  velle  respondere  and  placuit  novum  poeftam 
constitici  debere  (c.  14),  which  in  an  overreaching 
effort  after  extreme  precision  seem  to  have  lost 
their  special  meaning  altogether.  Desiit  vivere 
videri  (c.  4),  though  apparently  similar,  is  really 
exact  and  altogether  to  the  point.  Another  spe- 
cies of  characteristic  plebeian  redundancy  is  in- 
genti  fie^ydXcp  ')(opLicQ>  (c.  12). 

The  attitude  of  the  satirist  has  naturally  affected 
his  vocabulary  as  well  as  his  phraseology ;  and  in 
single  words  the  plebeian  element  is  perhaps  more 
easily  definable.  We  find  of  course  the  colloquial 
sane{c.  5,  13)  and  bene{c.  5)  in  the  same  sense,  like 
its  derivatives  in  the  Romance  languages.  Such 
terms  as  biicca  (c.  i),  miilio  (c.  6),  7totor  (c.  7), 
maintain  the  same  tone.  Of  the  vulgarism  of 
vapulare  (c.  9,  15),  "to  get  a  licking,"  there  is  no 
doubt  at  all.  Greek  words  like  duo  (c.  7)  and  cola- 
pkus{c,  15),  while  frequent  in  the  comedians,  came 
into  the  language  through  the  back  door,  so  to 
say;  alogia  (c.  7)  is  of  the  same  sort,  and  rarer. 
Similar  in  character  are  the  hybrid  forms  concacavi 
(c.  3)  diVid  praeptitmm  (c.  8  ;  from  prae  and  iroadiov). 


70  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

Among  plebeian  diminutive  formations  are  par- 
ticularly to  be  noted  numfnulariolus  (c.  9),  derived 
from  nummularius^  which  is  itself  of  plebeian  type, 
and  civitatulas  (c.  9).  The  more  familiar  pauculos 
(c.  3)  is  of  the  same  quality,  whence  we  have  gra- 
dations through  auriculam  and  Graeculo  to  forms 
quite  classical.  Other  vulgar  derivatives  are  la- 
turam  (c.  14)  and  presumably  Saturnalicius  (c.  8), 
while  of  analogous  formation  but  more  or  less  in- 
ducted into  good  literary  usage  are  perpetuarius 
(c.  6),  compendiaria  (c.  13),  and  the  adjectives /^j//- 
vissimam  (c.  8),  cordatus  (c.  12),  and  podagricus 
(c.  13),  "gouty.'* 

No  less  characteristic  than  vulgar  word  forma- 
tion is  the  use  of  words  with  altered  sense,  such  as 
generally  furnishes  slang.  The  Punic  word  mapa- 
Ha  (c.  9),  "  shanties,"  thus  becomes  the  type  of  un- 
considered rubbish.  Animam  ebulliit  (c.  4),  *'  goes 
up  the  flume,"  is  an  admirable  specimen.  The 
verb  imposuerat  {Herculi,  c.  6)  in  its  modern  sense 
of  "impose  upon,"  tibi  recipio{c,  6)  in  the  sense  of 
"  I  take  the  responsibility,"  "  I  warrant  you,"  a  fa- 
vorite expression  in  Cicero's  letters,  decollare  (c.  6), 
"  to  take  off  (a  burden)  from  the  neck,"  here  mean- 
ing "  to  behead," /^/^^n  (c.  7),  "  to  talk  nonsense," 
instead  of  like  an  oracle,  and  apparently  stude  (c.  8), 
in  the  sense  of  "stop  and  think,"  —  all  have  the 
colloquial  ring. 

The  title  itself,  if  the  disputed  Ludtis  were  ac- 
cepted, would  furnish  an  example  of   this  kind. 


STYLE  71 

Ludus,  in  the  sense  of  a  satire  upon  something, 
would  be  perhaps,  as  Biicheler  implies,  mediaeval 
Latin  ;  ^  but  for  this  the  popular  speech  is  well 
known  to  have  furnished  many  of  the  elements. 
The  use  of  the  word  in  the  sense  of  '*  mockery,"  or 
"a  joke,"  is  so  common  in  the  comic  writers,  to  say 
nothing  of  Persius's  ingenuo  ciilpam  defigere  liido 
{Sat.  V.  16),  that  it  is  by  no  means  impossible  to 
imagine  our  Menippean  crystallizing  the  word  in 
this  sense  into  a  title. 

The  syntax  of  the  Apocolocyntosis  shows  few 
peculiarities,  but  has  the  same  plebeian  tendency. 
There  is  the  common  colloquial  parataxis,  as  in  si 
dixero,  mensis  erat  October  (c.  2),  die  mihi  .  .  . 
quare  .  .  .  damnasti  (c.  10),  and  videris  .  ,  .  an 
,  .  .  si  aeeiis  fjitiiriis  es  (c.  10);  and  in  the  last 
instance  the  looseness  of  structure  is  emphasized 
by  a  redundant  particle.  In  piito  magis  intellegi 
(c.  2),  the  use  of  the  present  infinitive  instead  of  the 
future,  as  correlative  to  the  future  perfect  indica- 
tive dixero^  is  peculiar,  and  perhaps  to  be  noted 
also  is  the  confusion  of  tense  in  quid  sibi  velit  .  .  . 
mim  fufiHS  esset  {c,  12).  Erat  a  balneo  {c.  13)  re- 
calls the  still  worse  trick  of  plebeian  syntax  in 
Petronius's  Cena  (c.  ^2\fiii  infumis. 

As  for  the  use  of  cases,  vae  me  (c.  4)  is  one  of  the 
few  instances  of  the  accusative  with  this  particle. 
It  is  found  in  Plautus,  and  appears  to  be  an  inten- 

^  Du  Cange  {Glossarium,  etc.),  however,  cites  no  instance  of 
its  use  in  this  sense. 


72  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

tional  vulgarism.  The  use  of  the  ablative  in  tot 
minis  vixi  and  ^nultis  annis  regnavit  (c.  6)  is  the 
same  as  the  annis  .  .  .  mensibiis  .  .  .  diebus  .  .  . 
vixit^  so  common  on  plebeian  tombstones. 

The  word  celerius(c,  13),  in  the  sense  of  "hurry 
up/*  appears  to  be  an  instance  of  the  comparative 
colloquially  used  till  it  has  lost  its  special  force. 
The  conversational  tendency  to  clip  phrases  is  illus- 
trated in  the  repeated  use  of  ex  quo  (c.  i,  etc.)  for 
ex  quo  temporey  and  the  similar  ex  eo  (c.  4),  though 
this  is  a  usage  not  uncommon  in  poetry. 

It  would  be  an  interesting  matter  if  we  could 
know  how  far  the  introduction  of  "plebeian''  ele- 
ments into  the  satire  is  an  affectation,  and  how  far 
it  simply  reflects  the  conversational  habits  of  the 
cultivated  classes  to  which  Seneca  belonged.  Apart 
from  external  comparison,  there  is  a  hint,  perhaps, 
in  the  distribution  of  these  elements  in  the  satire 
itself.  They  seem  to  be  grouped  where  they  are 
wanted  with  a  certain  dramatic  consistency.  Whole 
paragraphs  pass  with  little  or  nothing  of  the  sort. 
Then  enter  the  comic  Hercules  and  the  disputatious 
Fever,  and  diction  of  the  most  breezily  colloquial 
character  becomes  abundant.  Better,  however,  is 
the  instance  in  chapter  9,  where  the  gods  in  council 
are  made  to  talk  in  a  vernacular  quite  untrammelled 
by  convention.  Mera  mapalia,  mimum^  and  vapu- 
lare  serve  as  punctuating  words,  and  the  string  of 
diminutives,  nummularioluSy  civitatulas,  and  auricu- 
laniy  is  interesting  for  the  peculiarity  of  its  collo- 


STYLE  73 

cation.  Of  the  seven  diminutives  used  in  the 
ApocolocyntosiSy  six  are  in  two  groups  of  three  each, 
these  three  within  as  many  lines,  and  three  in  chap- 
ter 3  hardly  more  widely  separated.  It  appears  as 
if  Seneca  occasionally  got  to  thinking  in  diminutives 
for  the  moment,  an  affectation  so  quickly  becomes 
automatic.  Augustus,  in  his  speech,  is  discreetly 
treated  in  a  sufficiently  different  style ;  and  at  the 
end  of  the  debate  we  are  quite  brought  around  to 
the  seriousness  of  the  occasion  with  the  formal 
parliamentary  statement  of  the  division  of  the 
house,  pedibiis  in  hanc  saitentimn  itiini  est. 

In  the  verses,  the  tone,  for  the  most  part,  is  quite 
the  reverse  of  colloquial,  and  the  syntax  offers  no 
great  peculiarity.  There  are  two  or  three  instances 
of  what  may  be  called  shifted  agreement,  a  form  of 
attraction  perhaps,  an  adjective  agreeing  with  the 
object  instead  of  more  logically  with  the  subject, 
with  adverbial  effect:  fcssas  habenas  (c.  2)  and 
primes  .  .  .  axes  (c.  4),  both  of  which  certain  crit- 
ics have  sought  to  avoid  by  emendation.  Me- 
diicni  .  .  .  diviserat  orbeni  (c.  2)  is  probably  to  be 
explained  on  a  similar  principle. 

The  versification  of  the  metrical  passages  de- 
mands little  comment.  Of  the  six  pieces  of  verse 
(other  than  quoted  fragments),  four  are  in  dactylic 
hexameter;  one,  where  Hercules,  qiio  terribilior 
essety  tragictis  fity  is  in  the  usual  iambic  senaritis  of 
the  drama,  and  the  dirge  of  chapter  12  is  in  anapestic 
dimeter  {quater7iaritcs\  familiar  as  a  choral  meas- 


74  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

ure  in  Seneca's  tragedies.  The  hexameters  are  of 
Seneca's  accustomed  regularity.  The  senarii  con- 
form to  the  Greek  limitations  of  iambic  trimeter, 
with  a  rather  high  proportion  of  anapests,  —  seven 
in  the  fourteen  Hnes,  five  of  them  being  in  the  fifth 
place.  The  proceletismaticus  occurs  once,  in  line 
II.  The  anapestic  nenia  is  written  with  more 
laxity,  the  substitution  of  the  dactyl  being  very 
frequent,  as  is  common  elsewhere  in  this  measure. 


IV 

That  we  have  only  fragments  of  Varro's  Me- 
nippean  satires  and  none  of  those  of  Menippus 
for  comparison  with  Seneca's,  has  already  been 
deplored.  At  a  later  day,  however,  the  Greek 
satirists,  Lucian  and  the  Emperor  JuHan,  offer 
some  striking  points  of  likeness.  It  is  not  to  be 
shown  that  Lucian  in  his  dialogues  or  Julian  in 
his  saturnaHan  tale  of  Romulus's  banquet  to  the 
gods  and  Caesars  is  an  imitator  of  the  Apocolocyn- 
tosisy  but  it  is  hard  to  persuade  ourselves  that 
Lucian  at  least  did  not  have  this  in  mind  in 
developing  some  of  his  ideas.  He  himself  is  one 
of  the  literary  successors  of  Menippus,  though  his 
satires  are  cast  in  a  somewhat  different  mould 
from  those  of  the  collateral  branch  which  we  have 
been  studying.  His  obligations  to  Menippus  he 
perhaps  intended  delicately  to  acknowledge  by  in- 
troducing him  so  frequently  in  the  Dialogues  of 


LITERARY  PARALLELS  75 

the  Dead,  and  with  an  almost  unique  considera- 
tion never  putting  him  into  compromising  situations. 
The  Gadarene  cynic  is  with  him  always  the  amia- 
ble imperturbable  inquirer,  just  the  man  indeed  to 
have  expressed  himself  in  the  calm  and  careless 
mixture  of  prose  and  verse  which  bears  his  name. 
Even  Charon  finds  him  respectable,  and  allows 
him  alone  of  all  the  passengers  to  bring  some  of 
his  equipment  aboard  the  boat  that  crosses  the 
Styx.  So  in  fact  we  find  Seneca  complimenting 
his  model,  Varro,  by  having  him  quoted  as  an 
authority  in  the  senate  of  heaven. 

In  the  Dialogues  of  the  Gods,  Lucian  habitually 
dealt  with  mythology  in  a  way  that  was  far  from 
conventional.  But  the  work  that  particularly  con- 
cerns us  is  the  %^<^v  ^^KK\7]aiay  and  the  Decree 
which  supplements  it.  This  is  a  special  assembly 
of  Olympus  called  to  consider  means  of  redress 
for  the  crowding  of  heaven  by  unworthy  claimants 
to  divine  honors, — the  very  question  raised  in  the 
heavenly  senate  by  Claudius's  application  in  the 
ApocolocyntosiSy  and  discussed  by  Momus  in  much 
the  same  spirit  as  by  Father  Janus.  In  general, 
Lucian's  Council  of  the  Gods  reads  strikingly  like 
a  regular  amplification  of  the  idea  suggested  by 
the  similar  incident  in  our  earlier  satire.  It  may 
be  said  possibly  that  this  kind  of  idea  was  to  some 
extent  common  property.  Literary  archaeologists 
are  certainly  over  prone  to  please  themselves  by 
precisely  defining  the  indebtedness  of  an  author's 


76  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

fancies,  and  we  know  how  quickly  ideas  come  to 
be  communistically  held.  No  doubt  the  humor- 
ous possibilities  created  by  some  of  the  imperial 
apotheoses  and  other  extensions  of  the  catholic 
pagan  pantheon  were  beginning  to  be  appreciated 
by  an  enlarged  Roman  public.  But  Seneca's 
meeting  of  the  celestial  senate  to  debate  over  the 
admission  of  divus  Claudius  is  so  curiously  paral- 
leled by  the  cosmopolitan  Greek's  assembly  of  the 
gods  to  consider  precisely  the  same  sort  of  ques- 
tion, that  it  leaves  us  with  at  least  a  reasonable  sus- 
picion. There  is  indeed  the  difference,  that  in 
the  Apocolocyntosis  the  virulence  of  the  political 
pamphleteer  rather  runs  away  with  the  artistic 
effect :  Augustus's  speech  is  both  long  and  sober, 
and  overloaded  with  serious  personalities;  while 
Lucian  carries  through  the  idea  undistorted.  But 
apart  from  this  there  are  both  general  and  particu- 
lar resemblances. 

The  very  beginning  of  the  ^YiKKXriaia  recalls  the 
opening  of  chapter  9  of  the  Apocolocyntosis,  where 
Jupiter  admonishes  the  assembled  gods  to  stop 
wrangling  and  come  to  order.  In  both  accounts 
there  is  a  tinge  of  mutual  jealousy  among  the 
deities.  Momus  as  chief  spokesman  is  a  fair  par- 
allel for  both  the  clever  Janus  and  the  nummtila- 
riolus  Diespiter,  and  the  irregularities  in  the  habits 
of  Jove  to  which  the  first  gives  such  liberal  atten- 
tion are  at  least  hinted  at  in  the  innuendoes  of 
chapter  8    in    the    Apocolocyntosis,       Particularly 


LITERARY  PARALLELS  y/ 

interesting  is  Lucian's  Decree,  which  goes  in 
several  respects  farther  than  either  of  the  three 
in  the  Apocolocyntosis,  but  is  decidedly  similar  in 
tone  to  the  first  one,  and,  like  the  last,  concludes 
with  the  sentence  that  one  who  could  not  produce 
proofs  of  divinity  should  be  expelled  summarily 
from  heaven,  even  if  he  were  worshipped  on 
earth, — as  we  are  told  at  the  end  of  chapter  8 
(Apoc.)  Claudius  was  by  the  Britons. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  in  the  ®€cbv  ^^kkXt]- 
aCa  that  the  religious  conditions  Lucian  had  espe- 
cially in  mind  were  Roman.  Not  to  cite  the 
introduction  of  Egyptian  gods,^  of  whom  Momus 
makes  so  much  fun,  and  those  of  the  Orient,  all 
of  which  would  apply  equally  well  to  the  Greek 
world,  there  are  distinctively  the  abstract  gods. 
Virtue,  Destiny,  Fortune,  and  others  who  were 
very  good  deities  at  Rome  but  unsatisfactory  as 
citizens  of  Olympus ;  and  the  numerous  references 
to  men  ambitious  of  divinity  seem  to  point  to  the 
explanation  of  the  whole  dialogue  as  an  indirect 
satire  —  as  direct  as  would  be  safe,  perhaps,  for 
a  Greek  —  upon  the  easy  immortalization  of  the 
emperors. 

Another  of  Lucian's  dialogues,  that  between 
Menecrates  and  Musonius,  on  Nero,  is  cited  in  the 
notes  to  chapter  4.  At  the  end  of  it  Nero's  death 
is  announced,  and  after  Menecrates's  congratula- 
tory ev  76,  &  6eoC^  the  last  speech  of  Musonius  has 

^  QL  Seneca's  allusion  in  evp-ZiKa/JLev  (rvyxcLipcajj^v,  Apoc,  c.  13. 


yS  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

a  certain  interest:  'AXXa  /^^  l'iT&)')(6i\ie6a'  liri 
r^ap  ToU  KeLfxevoL^  ov  (t)aaL  Selv.  If  Lucian  did  have 
the  Apocolocyntosis  in  mind,  we  have  here  his  judg- 
ment upon  one  aspect  of  it. 

The  Emperor  Julian,  in  writing  his  Katb-a/je?, 
probably  had  Lucian's  style  as  his  model,  and 
whether  he  had  ever  read  the  Apocolocyntosis  we 
have  no  means  of  judging.  His  work  is  by  no 
means  so  amusing.  As  Vavasseur  quaintly  com- 
pares it  in  his  De  Ludicra  Dictione^  Mihi  quidem 
Caesar  is  iiniis  Senecae propemodiim  pluris  est,  quam 
cuftcti  Caesares  ipsius  Cae saris  luliani,  Julian's 
gods  are,  as  we  should  expect,  somewhat  rehabili- 
tated in  respectability,  but  there  is  an  analogy  to 
the  theme  of  the  Apocolocyntosis  in  the  idea  of 
introducing  the  Caesars  one  by  one  for  Silenus 
jocosely  to  pass  judgment  upon  them.  His  recep- 
tion of  Claudius,^  too,  is  pertinent.  Beginning  in 
mock  politeness  to  recite,  from  Aristophanes's 
Knights,  the  description  of  the  stupid  and  choleric 
old  man  Demos,  he  turns  then  to  Quirinus  to  re- 
proach him  for  having  brought  Claudius  without 
the  freedmen  who  had  charge  of  his  soul.  The 
Katira/oe?  also  is  Menippean  in  the  sense  of  being 
a  mixture  of  prose  and  verse,  though  the  pro- 
portion of  the  latter  is  small.  The  character, 
however,  is  the  same. 

This  can  hardly  be  said  of  another  late  work 
that  has  been  cited  among  the  Menippeans,  the 

1  In  c.  6. 


LITERARY  PARALLELS  79 

De  Niiptiis  Philologiae  et  Mercuriiy  which  forms 
the  first  two  books  of  the  Satiricon  of  Martianus 
Capella,  so  extensively  used  as  a  school-book  in 
the  Middle  Ages.  It  appears  to  be  an  imitation 
of  Varro  in  many  points ;  but  its  intentions  are  so 
obviously  serious  that  it  is  a  species  of  Menippean 
satire  with  the  satire  left  out.  The  title  is  the 
most  humorous  thing  about  it.  Still  further  re- 
moved, in  the  same  category,  is  the  Mythologicon 
of  Fulgentius  Planciades,  a  pedantic  and  obscure 
book  which  has  been  thought  to  be  an  imitation  of 
Petronius's  Satiricon, 

Coming  to  the  time  of  the  Renaissance,  we  find 
two  confessed  attempts  at  a  revival  of  the  Menip- 
pean satire.  They  are  Jtisti  Lipsi  Satyra  Menip- 
pea^  Sont7iiiifn  {Lies us  in  nostri  Aevi  Criticos\  and 
Petri  Ciinaei  Sardi  Venules ^  Satyra  Menippea ; 
in  huius  saeculi  homines  plerosque  inepte  eruditos. 
The  titles  are  borrowed,  one  apparently  from  Cicero 
and  the  other  from  Varro,  of  whose  satire  called 
Sardi  Venales^  a  single  fragment  is  preserved  in 
Nonius,  or  perhaps  directly  from  the  familiar 
proverb,  given  by  Cicero  {^Ep.  ad  Fam.  vii.  24,^?^.), 
Sardi  Venales  alius  alio  nequior  ;  but  both  of  them 
begin  in  obvious  imitation  of  Seneca's  Ludus^  prac- 
tically their  only  Latin  model,  in  fact. 

It  was  while  the  brilliant  Lipsius  was  a  professor 
of  history  at  Leyden  (i 579-1 590)  that  he  published 

^  For  the  original  incident  to  which  Varro*s  use  of  the  title  was 
due,  see  Aur.  Vict.  (  Vir,  Illtistr.  c.  Ivii) :  aliero  consulatu  [  Tib, 


8o  THE   SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

his  Somniumy  \jatyra]  apta  ad  ritum  prisci  Sena- 
tus,  as  one  of  the  subtitles  explains  it.  It  is  dedi- 
cated to  Joseph  Scaliger,  and  with  the  estimable 
double  purpose  \ut\  te  delectet^  Uiventiiteni  doceat : 
cui  etiam  remissiones  nostras  vohimus  servire.  The 
high-bred  wit  of  this  parody  might  well  have  served 
for  more  frequent  reading  to  many  of  the  text 
critics  at  whose  methods  its  irony  is  directed. 

It  begins  in  the  very  beat  and  measure  of  the 
Apocolocyntosis :  Quid  hoc  anno  Romae  in  Senatii 
dictum,  actum,  cautum.  sit,  volo  m^emoriae  prodere. 
Frustra  me  respicis  cum  sublato  digito,  Sigalion ; 
non  debet  silentio  perire  res  tarn,  magna.  Dicam 
quae  vidi,  quae  audivi,  quibus  interfui.  quis  vetat  ? 
Ego  scio  coactores  abisse,  et  niveam  libertatem  re- 
disse.  Si  vera  dicam,  agnoscite :  si  falsa,  ignoscite, 
etc.     Beginning  chapter  2,  the  hour  is  described : 

Desierant  latrare  canes,  urbesque  silebant, 
Omnia  noctis  erant  placida  coinposta  quiet e, 

vel,  ut  cum  Varrone  clarius  dicam,  iam  noctis  meri- 
dies  erat:  cum  tetigit  me  virga  valentiore  Dius 
somnus,  Autumni  teinpus  erat,  etc.  The  first  man 
he  meets  in  his  dream,  an  old  friend,  addresses  him 
with  the  Homeric  line,  Tt9  iroOev  eh  avhpcov^  ttoOl 
TOL  ttoXl^  ^'8e  TOKTje^  ;  and  he  replies,  "  Itaque  ergo 
excidit  tibi  Lipsius  tuus  ?  "  inquam,  "  an  notorem  me 
dare  vis  .^  " 

Sempronius  Gracchus]  Sardiniam  domuit,  tantumque  captivorum 
adduxit,  ut  lofiga  venditione  res  in  proverbium  veniret,  Sardi 
Venules, 


LITERARY  PARALLELS  8 1 

Not  to  go  on  citing  details,  —  and  Lipsius's  bor- 
rowings, in  true  Menippean  tradition,  are  from 
everywhere,  though  his  special  obligation  to  the 
Apocolocyntosis  is  most  constantly  in  evidence,  — 
the  meeting  of  the  senate  to  which  his  dream  ad- 
mits him  is  one  in  which  the  classical  Latin  writers 
are  gathered  to  discuss  means  of  redress  against 
the  modern  critics  who  by  emendations  and  conjec- 
tures have  been  pulling  ancient  literature  to  pieces, 
—  a  sufficiently  vital  question,  one  would  think,  if 
the  classical  authors  have  ever  been  inclined  to 
turn  in  their  graves.  The  attendance  at  the  meet- 
ing seems  to  be  large  and  enthusiastic.  We  find 
the  consul,  Cicero,  announcing  (c.  14) :  Patres  Con- 
script iy  mult  a  hodie  frequentia  est,  itaque  non  ibo  per 
singiilos  :  per  Sattiram  exquirendae  sententiae  sunt. 
Die,  si  quis  voles  e  Poetis,  There  are  speeches  by 
Sallust,  Ovid,  Varro,  Pliny,  and  others,  and  at  the 
end  an  elaborate  senatiis  constdtum,  disposing  vari- 
ously of  the  different  sorts  of  critics  of  whom  the 
authors  had  complained. 

On  his  own  account  Lipsius  adds  a  useful  re- 
mark ad  lectorem :  Quaedam  in  hoc  scripto  obscuri- 
ora  fore  iuventuti  scio,  Lector:  idque  considto  coft- 
silio  a  nobis  factum,     Satyra  enim  aliter  non  fit. 

The  Sardi  Venales  of  Cunaeus  is  another  of  the 
books  perhaps  nearly  enough  forgotten  to  be  "as 
good  as  manuscript."  It  is,  however,  a  more  pon- 
derous as  well  as  somewhat  longer  piece  than  the 
Somnium,  to  the  suggestion  of  which  there  is  some 

G 


82  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

temptation  to  suspect  it  owes  its  existence.  It  has 
the  air,  if  one  may  particularize  so  far,  of  being  an 
imitation  of  an  imitation,  and  at  times  it  appears 
as  if  the  writer  stopped  and  took  pains  to  say 
something  a  Httle  differently  from  what  he  had  in- 
tended, lest  his  indebtedness  to  his  recent  model 
should  be  too  patent.  The  attack  upon  homines 
inepte  eruditos  was  a  good  idea,  but  hardly  one  to 
be  developed  with  such  laborious  humor. 

It  was  directed  against  the  theologians  of  the 
Reformation.  The  materials  upon  which  it  draws, 
however,  are  chiefly  pagan,  the  scene  being  laid  in 
the  Epicurean  intermundia,  where  the  shades  con- 
vene with  Erasmus  as  president.  The  speeches 
reveal  a  good  deal  of  conservatism  among  the 
shadowy  denizens  of  that  country.  Menippus  ap- 
pears incidentally,  as  he  did  in  the  Somrmim:  in 
fact,  Cunaeus  seems  to  have  drawn  upon  Lucian 
more  than  Lipsius  did.  In  both  of  these  Menip- 
pean  satires  the  admixture  of  verse  is  only  in  the 
form  of  an  occasional  brief  quotation  from  one  of 
the  poets.  Petrus  Cunaeus  (van  der  Kun)  was 
professor  of  Latin,  then  of  jurisprudence  and  poli- 
tics, at  Leyden,  where  the  Sardi  Venules  was  pub- 
lished in  1612,  along  with  a  translation  of  Julian's 
Caesares.  It  was  often  reprinted,  e.g.  in  161 7  at 
the  end  of  a  volume  containing  Erasmus's  Enco- 
mium Moriae  and  Lipsius's  Somnitc^n.  In  1720,  at 
Leipzig,  appeared  Cortius's  edition  of  Tres  Satyrae 
Menippeae^  i.e,  the  Apocolocy mitosis ^  Lipsius 's  Som- 


LITERARY  PARALLELS  83 

niiim,  and  Cunaeus's  Sardi  Venules^  with  annota- 
tions. 

Of  less-defined  traces  of  the  Hterary  influence  of 
the  Apocolocyntosis  it  would,  of  course,  be  futile  to 
attempt  anything  like  an  enumeration.  Petronius 
has  been  claimed  as  at  some  points  an  imitator  of 
Seneca's  satire,  though  upon  grounds  hardly  more 
substantial  than  similarities  due  to  the  fact  that 
both  authors  drew  freely  upon  colloquial  sources 
for  their  language.  Lucan's  verses  {Phars.  vi.  785 
seq.)  in  which  the  ghost  raised  by  the  witch  to 
prophesy  to  Sextus  describes  the  angry  shades  in 
Hades,  have  been  called  an  imitation  of  the  pas- 
sage in  the  Apocolocyntosis  {(z.  13)  where  the  hostile 
assemblage  of  Claudius's  victims  gathers  to  meet 
him  in  the  same  region.  It  seems  to  me  that  there 
is  no  more  reason  to  think  that  Lucan  is  imitating 
his  uncle  Seneca  than  that  he  is  imitating  Vergil, 
or  that,  having  a  situation  more  or  less  conven- 
tional, he  treats  it  in  a  way  which  follows  the  line 
of  least  resistance. 

A  passage  in  Ausonius,  however,  who  was  a  pro- 
fessed borrower,  certainly  does  read  like  a  remi- 
niscence. It  is  in  a  letter  to  his  son  {Ep.  xxiii  ^), 
referred  to  in  the  notes.  After  some  verses  poeti- 
cally defining  the  season  and  the  hour,  somewhat 
similar  to  those  in  Seneca's  chapter  2,  he  resumes 
prose  with  the  remark,  Nescis,  pjcto,  qtiid  velhn 
tot  versibtis  dicere,  meditcs  fidiics  7ieque  ego  berie 
1  Teub.  ed.,  p.  266. 


84  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

intellego :  tamen  suspicor.  iam  prima  nox  erat  ante 
diem  nomcm  decimimi  Kal.  Ian.  cum  .  .,  .  etc. 
This  seems  to  be  a  genially  intended  parody. 

A  similar  but  modern  trace  appears  in  Paul  Scar- 
ron's  Roman  comiqtce  (Paris,  165 1).  Of  course  it 
is  true  that  the  mock-heroic  style  is  essentially  the 
same  in  all  situations,  and  that  coincidence  will 
account  for  many  resemblances.  But  Scarron 
showed  in  his  Virgile  travesti  what  he  could  do 
in  one  direction,  and  the  manner  of  the  Roman 
comiqtie  as  a  whole  reminds  us  strongly  of  Petro- 
nius.  Indeed,  Scarron  seems  often  to  have  the 
self-conscious  air  that  comes  with  the  attempt  at 
either  imitation  or  avoidance.  But  at  least  in  his 
opening  lines  his  obligation  seems  to  be  particular 
rather  than  general,  and  to  the  same  model  as  that 
of  Ausonius  already  quoted.  He  begins,  Le  soleil 
avoit  acheve  plus  de  la  moiti^  de  sa  course^  et  son 
char  ayant  attrapp^  le  penchant  du  monde,  rouloit 
plus  vtte  qu'il  ne  vouloit.  Then  a  bit  of  playful 
elaboration  is  followed  by.  Pourparler  plus  humaine- 
m.ent  et  plus  intelligiblement^  il  ^toit  entre  cijiq  et 
six,  quand  U7ie  charrette  entra  dans  les  Halles  du 
Mans,  etc. 

Hardly  to  be  passed  over  in  the  quest  of  simi- 
larities^ are  Southey's  and  Byron's  Visions  of  Judg- 
ment, describing  the  appearance  of  George  IH 
before  the  bar  of  heavenly  justice.     The  composi- 

V 

1  See  Merivale,  History  of  the  Rotnans  under  the  Empire,  c. 
50,  fin. 


LITERARY  PARALLELS  85 

tion  of  the  poet  laureate  is  not  very  much  in  the 
spirit  of  Seneca's  satire,  but  perhaps  equally  with 
Byron's,  which  is  quite  so,  it  suggests  that  the 
author  had  the  same  sort  of  data  for  his  poetical 
problem  in  mind.  There  are  one  or  two  phrases 
in  Byron's  verses,  however,  which  particularly  inti- 
mate  his   reading  of   the  Apocolocyntosis,  e,g.  in 

stanza  ix:  — 

"  And  no  great  dearth 

Of  aught  but  tears  —  save  those  shed  by  collusion," 

which  last  looks  like  a  possible  misreading  of  the 
phrase  in  the  Apocolocyntosis  (c.  12),  plane  ex  animo. 
Then  there  are  the  lines  in  stanza  xii :  — 

"  The  king  who  comes  has  head  and  all  entire, 
And  never  knew  much  what  it  was  about  — 
He  did  as  doth  the  puppet  —  by  its  wire,^' 

etc.,  which,  as  well  as  some  other  lines,  recalls 
points  in  the  characterization  of  Claudius.  A  par- 
allel might  of  course  be  fancied,  too,  between  the 
situations  of  Byron's  St.  Peter  and  Seneca's  Her- 
cules meeting  Claudius  at  the  heavenly  gate. 

Another  passage  that  has  been  cited  in  com- 
parison with  our  satire  is  that  in  Shakespeare's 
Richard  ///(Act  i.  sc.  4),  as  referred  to  in  the 
notes  to  chapter  13.  Here,  however,  no  claims 
can  be  plausibly  made  beyond  those  of  mere 
resemblance. 

In  a  work  of  the  ninth  century,  the  Vita  Walae 
of  Radbertus,  which  is  included  in  Mabillon's  col- 
lection of  the  Acta  Sanctorum  Ord.  S.  Benedicti,  is 


86  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

a  passage  quite  distinctly  plagiarized  from  the  first 
chapter  of  the  Apocolocyntosis^  as  Mabillon  is  said 
to  have  pointed  out.  The  passage  extends  from 
quis  umquam  ab  historico  iuratores  exegit  to  etiamsi 
in  medio  foro  hominefn  occiso  vidisset^  inclusive. 
Since  this  is  perhaps  older  than  any  of  the  exist- 
ing manuscripts  of  the  Ludus  itself,  it  has  a  certain 
interest  in  text  criticism,  for  which  it  is  cited  by  F. 
Jonas  {Hermes^  vi.  126).  It  is  referred  to  in  the 
notes. 


As  to  an  author's  popularity  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
the  number  of  manuscripts  which  have  come  down 
to  us  containing  his  works  is  a  natural  evidence. 
Judged  in  this  way,  Seneca  on  the  whole  fared 
well.  We  should  expect  it  of  a  writer  who,  in  spite 
of  his  pagan  limitations,  was  unofficially  canonized 
by  the  Church,  and  made  the  beneficiary  of  pious 
forgery.  Naturally,  however,  the  regard  of  the 
ecclesiastical  arbiters  of  taste  was  less  keen  for  the 
satire  than  for  the  moral  essays.  The  Ludus  was 
sufficiently  overlooked  at  least  to  be  counted  a  dis- 
covery when,  in  the  Revival  of  Learning,  as  the 
classics  were  being  rapidly  brought  out  in  printed 
editions,  this  found  its  way  to  the  press. 

The  manuscript  source  of  this  first  publication 
(15 1 3)  is  unknown.  The  text  was  nuper  in  Ger- 
mania  repertus  when  carried  to  Rome,  certainly 
in  a  very  imperfect  condition,  lacking  the  Greek 


MANUSCRIPTS  Zy 

quotations  and  including  a  number  of  interpolated 
passages. 

The  principal  manuscript  texts  known  and  col- 
lated by  the  more  recent  critics  are  enumerated 
in  the  following  list,  compiled  chiefly  from  the 
accounts  of  Ruhkopf,  Fickert,  Schenkl,  and  espe- 
cially Bucheler : 

Codex  Sangallensis,  in  the  library  of  St.  Gall, 
No.  569,  containing  lives  of  the  saints,  etc.,  written 
by  various  hands  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  cen- 
turies. Page  243  begins  with  the  title,  Diiii  Claudii 
incipit  AIIOGHOCIC  Annei  Sejiece  per  satiram.  The 
piece  ends  on  page  251  with  Diui  Claudii  explicit 
Apotheosis  Annei  Senecae  persaturam.  It  is  writ- 
ten on  parchment,  thirty-two  lines  to  the  page,  the 
initial  letters  of  sentences  and  verses  and  the 
Greek  being  in  red.  Punctuation  is  abundant, 
though  sometimes  incorrect.  A  comparison  of 
this  manuscript  with  Lipsius's  second  edition  (Ant- 
werp, 161 5),  is  given  by  Orelli  in  the  Epistola 
Critica  ad  Madvigiunty  prefixed  to  his  edition  of 
Cicero,  Orator,  etc.,  Zurich,  1830.  Biicheler  had 
two  careful  comparisons  of  the  St.  Gall  manuscript 
made  for  him,  one  with  Haase's  and  the  other  with 
Schusler's  text. 

Codex  Valenciennensis,  in  the  library  of  Valen- 
ciennes,  No.  190,^   considered  to   be   of  the  end 

1  See  Leopold  Delisle,  on  the  Catalogue  ,  .  .  des  manuscriis  de  la 
bibliotKeque  de  Valenciennes^  Journal  des  Savants,  i860,  pp.  377- 

378. 


88  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

of  the  ninth  or  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century, 
since  it  is  inscribed  as  written  by  the  presbyter 
Hucbaldus.  It  is  a  parchment  i2mo,  containing 
a  variety  of  pieces.  According  to  Oehler,  who 
collated  it  for  Fickert,  the  title  of  the  satire  is 
given  as  Senece  Ludus  de  morte  Claudii,  while  at 
the  end  comes  the  epigram,  of  uncertain  appli- 
cation : 

Damnabis  numquam  longum  post  tempus  amicum  ; 
Mutavit  mores  sed  pignora  prima  memento. 

This  manuscript  is  said  to  be  the  same  that  was 
used  by  H.  Junius,  under  the  name  of  the  Codex 
Amandi. 

The  Wolfenbiittel  manuscript  {Codex  Guelferby- 
tanus)  Extravag.  299,  an  Italian  parchment  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  containing  besides  our  satire 
the  Satiricon  of  Petronius  and  two  other  works. 
It  begins  (fol.  2a),  Ludus  Senece  de  morte  Claudii 
Neronis  foeliciter  Incipit,  and  closes  (fol.  i6b)  after 
ut  cognationibus  abesset  (sic),  with  the  double  sub- 
scription Ludus  Senecae  de  morte  Claudii  Neronis 
finit  Foeliciter  and  Lucii  Annei  Senecae  Satira  de 
Claudio  Cesare  Finit  foeliciter.  The  text  contains 
many  errors,  and  lacks  the  Greek  quotations. 

In  the  French  Bibliothique  Natio7tale  are  a  num- 
ber of  manuscripts  which  were  collated  for  Ruh- 
kopf.  They  are  all  of  the  thirteenth  to  fifteenth 
centuries,  and  the  titles  where  given  are  always 
with  the  word  Ludus  in  some  form. 


MANUSCRIPTS  89 

Paris.  No.  6630,  of  the  thirteenth  century,  1 10 
parchment  leaves  in  small  8vo.  On  folio  98a: 
L,  Annei  Senece  de  Be7ieficiis  libri  VII  explicit 
feliciter^  incipit  eittsdem  Senece  Ltidus  de  Morte 
Claiidii  Cae saris.  On  folio  103b,  Explicit  Ltidus 
Sence.  [sic]  incipittnt proverbia  eiusdem  Senecae  per 
ordinem  alphabeti.  This  manuscript  is  carefully 
written,  and  in  comparison  with  the  following  ones 
offers  a  but  slightly  corrupted  text.  The  Greek  is 
carefully  copied.  It  was  collated  for  Biicheler  by 
A.  Holder. 

Paris.  No.  8717,  a  parchment  of  the  fourteenth 
century.  Between  the  title  and  the  satire  is  in- 
serted Martial's  Epigram,  v.  42.  The  text  is 
hastily  written  and  the  Greek  quotations  are  lack- 
ing, except  in  chapter  4.  Compared  throughout 
for  Biicheler. 

Paris.  No.  1936,  parchment,  of  the  fourteenth 
century. 

Paris.  No.  6389,  parchment,  of  the  fourteenth 
century. 

Paris.  No.  5055,  an  Italian  manuscript  on 
paper ;  of  the  fourteenth  or  beginning  of  the  fif- 
teenth century. 

Paris.  No.  6395,  parchment,  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  lacking  the  Greek  passages,  and  without 
spaces  left  for  them. 

Paris.  No.  8544,  parchment,  written  1389  a.d.  ; 
it  is  without  title  and  contains  only  the  first  part  of 
the  text,  ending,  curiously,  with  Qiiod  nunc  prof ani 


90  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

vocis  incerto  sonas?  (c./)  at  the  bottom  of  a  page, 
deo  gratias  explicit.  The  next  page  begins  with 
the  De  dementia, 

Paris.  No.  8542,  parchment,  of  the  fourteenth 
or  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  lacking  the 
Greek,  but  with  spaces  left  for  it. 

Paris.  No.  8501A,  of  the  end  of  the  thirteenth 
century;  it  contains  only  the  beginning  of  the  satire. 

Paris.  No.  8624,  of  the  thirteenth  century ; 
giving  the  title,  but  containing  only  the  beginning 
of  the  satire.  This  Biicheler  had  compared  for 
chapters  i  and  2. 

Not  collated  for  Ruhkopf ,  were  — 

Paris.  No.  2389,  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
lacking  the  Greek ;  collated  for  Biicheler  for  chap- 
ter 10,  and 

Paris.  No.  (Supplem.)  12 13,  reported  to  Biiche- 
ler by  A.  Holder. 

In  the  Vatican  library,  four  manuscripts  given 
by  Ruhkopf  as  up  to  his  time  uncollated,  and 
having  the  title,  Ludus  de  Morte  Claudii  Caesaris, 
in  — 

Vatican.  No.  2201,  parchment  folio,  of  the 
thirteenth  century. 

Vatican.  No.  2212,  an  ornate  German  parch- 
ment foHo,  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

Vatican.  No.  2216,  parchment  folio,  of  the  four- 
teenth century. 

Vatican.  No.  4498,  parchment  quarto,  of  the 
fifteenth  century. 


MANUSCRIPTS  9 1 

Also  reported  to  Ruhkopf  was  a  manuscript  in 
St.  Mark's  Library,  Venice,  Codex  No.  267,  a 
quarto  of  the  fourteenth  century,  badly  written 
and  full  of  errors. 

According  to  Fickert,^  Gronoviiis  bis  laicdat  Cod, 
Harlemensem  ;  Lip  sins  {Epp.  Q,)  aliquoties  stium. 

The  so-called  Codex  Weiss enbicrgensis^  used  by 
B.  Rhenanus,  and  the  Codex  Ciirionis,  as  well  as 
the  unknown  manuscript  which  was  the  source  of 
the  editio  princeps,  are  not  at  present  identifiable, 
even  if  in  existence. 

As  to  the  relative  critical  value  of  the  different 
codices,  the  St.  Gall  manuscript  is  recognized  in 
general  as  undoubtedly  the  best.  The  Valenciennes 
manuscript  is,  except  in  a  few  points,  considered 
second  to  this,  all  the  others  being  later  and  inferior. 
The  existing  manuscripts  appear  all  to  have  been 
derived  from  the  same  archetype,  from  which, 
judging  from  the  lacuna  before  chapter  8,  at  least 
one  leaf  must  have  been  missing.  The  St.  Gall 
text  is  nearest  this  original  one.  The  Valenciennes 
manuscript,  even  though  it  be  chronologically  ear- 
lier, is  farther  removed  from  the  primitive  in  order 
of  copy .2  It  and  all  the  other  manuscripts  belong, 
as  opposed  to  the  St.  Gall  codex,  in  one  group. 
The  title  which  they  give,  where  it  is  not  omitted, 

1  Gruter,  he  said,  had  no  manuscript  guide. 

2  Schenkl  condemns  Wehle  for  saying  that  St.  G.  is  evidently 
nearer  the  source  than  Val.,  apparently  overlooking  this  very  simple 
explanation. 


92  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

is  Ltidus  instead  of  the  Apotheosis  of  the  St.  Gall. 
Within  the  text  also  the  variations  show  the  same 
relation.  A  typical  instance  of  this  is  the  sentence 
in  chapter  3,  which  in  the  St.  Gall  manuscript  is 
quid  huic  et  rei  ptiblicae  invides?  while  in  the 
others  it  is,  with  minor  variations,  quid  huic  in- 
vides? respondit,  etc.,  reip  having  been  changed 
into  respondit  and  transposed  in  position.  The 
St.  Gall  manuscript  is  said  to  be  freer  than  any  of 
the  others  from  senseless  blunders  of  the  copyist, 
though,  as  Rossbach  points  out,  in  certain  points 
the  Valenciennes  text  is  more  accurate  than  the 
St.  Gall.  In  two  or  three  instances,  referred  to  in 
the  notes,  errors  in  the  latter  text  are  corrected  by 
a  consensus  of  the  others. 

VI 

The  editio  princeps  of  the  Ludus  was  published 
at  Rome  in  15 13.  Apparently  it  has  been  little 
known.^  It  is  a  thin  pamphlet  of  only  twenty-four 
pages  small  quarto,  unnumbered,  and  its  explana- 
tion of  itself  is  unfortunately  somewhat  meagre. 
The  title-page  reads,  Lucii  Annaei  Senecae  in  morte 
Claudii  Caesaris  Ludus  nuper  repertus.  Then 
comes  the  dedicatory  letter,  Alberto  Pio  Carporum 
principi  illustrissimo,  Imp,  Caesaris  Maximiliani 
Augusti  legato ^  C.  Sylvanus  Germanicus  salutem, 

1  Neither  Ruhkopf  nor  Fickert  had  seen  it,  and  some  of  the  edi- 
tors appear  not  to  have  been  aware  of  its  existence.  The  library  of 
Columbia  University  acquired  a  copy  in  1901. 


EDITIONS  AND    COMMENTATORS  93 

About  three  pages  follow,  highly  complimentary 
to  Albert  the  Pious,  setting  forth  the  difficulty  of 
being  so  good  a  prince  as  he,  and  the  appropriate- 
ness of  dedicating  to  him  a  satire  on  so  bad  a  one 
as  Claudius  had  been.  Nostri  maiores,  says  the 
editor,  bonos  \_principes']  mentis  laudibiis  extule- 
rimt :  malos  veiv  &  detestati  stmt :  &  in  eos  super- 
stites  adhuc  scommata :  atit  in  defiinctos  edidemnt 
loedoria.  Scilicet  ut  tanq\_tiant]  in  speculo  facultds 
vidcndi  principibits  essety  quos  aut  emidarentur  aut 
ficgerent.  Ex  qtiibics  unus  L.  Annaeus  Seneca  in 
fnorte  Clatidii  Caesans,  qui  nisi  Neronem  adoptasset 
qziis  inter  Cues  ares  crude  lior  habefidus  ftierity 
S.P.Q.R.  dubitavissety  libellmn  edidity  quo  maxime 
ipsum  Clatidiiini  deridet. 

The  letter  presently  includes  a  remark  more  im- 
portant :  Qiiare  cum  sis  doctissimus  &  antiquitatum 
amantissimuSy  hoc  opuscuhmiy  quod  in  tenebris  tot 
annisy  paucisque  admodum  notum  fuity  tibi  dicare  & 
omnibus  impartire  duxi.  Turn,  quod  qui  hoc  lege- 
rinty  per  te  id  legisse  cognoscant :  tibique  id  accoep- 
turn  referant.  Turn  quia  Senecae:  si  qua  cura 
mortuos  tangit :  id  futurum  non  minime  voluptati 
sperOy  quod  Indus  suus  7iomine  tuo  insignitus  tan- 
dem emergat  in  lucem.  Qui princeps  es  &  re  &  no- 
mifte  pius.  Tu  vero  qtialecumque  fit  quod  offerOy 
vultu  hilari  accipito.  Quando  non  hoc  opusculumy 
sed  meipsum  tibi  dedo  &  dedico  perpetuum  manci- 
pium.  Vale  decus  heroum,.  Romae  quarto  Nonas 
Augusti  MDXIIL 


94  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

Then,  just  before  the  text  of  the  satire  itself 
comes  the  not  very  brilUant  epigram  entitled,  Ma- 
riangelus  Accursius  Sylvano  : 

Finge  alios  post  te  ludo  hoc  quaecumque  super  sunt 
Aedere  iam  decus  id  cedit  utrunque  tibi 

Annaeum  nam  dum  properas  ab  labe  veterni 
Asserere,  invito s  elicis  invidulos. 

After  the  end  of  the  satire  is  added  this  note, 
Lectori: 

Qualem  hunc  mecuni  e  Germania  Ludum  attuli 
visum  est  aedere  atque  impertire  studiosisy  ut  nos- 
trum est  inge7iium  prodesse  velle  plurimis.  Quae 
autem  mendosa  videbantur  paucula  pudore  nostra 
non  corrigimus,  turn  spatium  ad  excribenda  graeca 
quae  desiderabantur  linquimus :  ut  integrum  sit 
bono  cuique  meliora  et  adiicere  et  instaurare. 

On  the  whole,  the  editor*s  is  a  scanty  piece  of 
work,  too  much  so,  it  would  seem,  even  to  justify 
Mariangelus  Accursius.  One  is  tempted  to  think 
that  Sylvanus  had  other  and  unavowed  reasons  for 
so  hastily  putting  his  prize  into  print,  the  fear,  per- 
haps, that  some  one  else  would  forestall  his  inten- 
tion of  using  it  as  a  means  to  princely  favor. 

The  text  itself,  as  he  gives  it,  is  evidently  taken 
from  one  of  the  inferior  group  of  manuscripts. 
The  Greek  quotations,  as  he  says,  are  altogether 
lacking,  and  spaces  are  left  blank  for  filling  them 
in.  There  are,  however,  a  number  of  interpolated 
passages,  some  not  found  in  any  existing  manu- 


EDITIONS  AND    COMMENTATORS  95 

script,  of  which  Schenkl  gives  the  evident  expla- 
nation :  that  some  homo  doctiis^  having  one  of  the 
later  manuscripts  and  knowing  Suetonius  and  Ju- 
venal, set  out  to  fix  up  the  text  afterward  published 
by  Sylvanus,  who  for  himself  professes  that  he  did 
nothing  at  all  to  his  material.  The  unknown 
emender  simply  took  liberties  with  his  author. 
The  interpolations  thus  made,  however,  after  being 
detached  from  the  text,  have  the  same  claim  to  our 
attention  as  early  scholia ;  they  are  mentioned  in 
the  notes  as  the  passages  occur. 

The  first  annotated  edition  of  the  Ludiis  was  by 
Rhenanus  at  Basle,  not  quite  two  years  later  than 
the  editio  pruiceps.  His  was  entitled,  Ludiis  Z. 
Annaei  Senecae  de  morte  Claudii  Cue  saris  nuper  in 
Germania  repertus  aim  scholiis  Beati  Rhenani, 
On  the  same  title-page  appear  a  translation  of 
Synesiiis  Cyrc7iensis  de  laiidibus  Calvitiiy  also  ed- 
ited by  Rhenanus,  and  Erasmi  Roterodami  Moriae 
Encomitim.  It  is  dated,  Basileae  in  aedibiis  loan- 
nis  Frobenii  mense  Martio  a7tno  MDX  V.  The  text 
of  this  edition  was  taken  from  the  editio  princeps, 
with  such  minor  corrections  as  the  editor  out  of 
his  own  resources  could  make,  and  scholiis  ex  Stie- 
tonio  et  Tacito  tumidtiia7iter  adjiotatis.  It  is  inter- 
esting especially  for  his  attempt  to  supply,  as  he 
says,  divi?tandOy  some  of  the  missing  Greek  quota- 
tions. In  one  instance  he  succeeded  in  divining 
the  same  bit  of  Greek  which  was  afterward  found 
in  the  manuscripts,  viz.  Hercules's  question  to  Clau- 


g6  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

dius  in  chapter  5,  t/?  iroOev  eZ?  avSpcjv,  etc.  (See 
note  on  the  passage.) 

Later  in  the  same  year,  1515,  Rhenanus's  text 
and  commentary  of  the  Ludus  were  included  in 
Erasmus's  first  great  edition  of  the  two  Senecas, 
and  this  appears  to  have  been  the  earliest  text 
accessible  to  many  of  the  later  scholars  who  have 
dealt  with  the  satire. 

Some  time  after  his  first  work  upon  it  Rhenanus 
found  the  manuscript  of  the  Ludus,  referred  to  as 
the  Codex  Weissenburgensis,  from  which  he  could 
correct  his  Greek  conjectures.  His  commentary 
was  repeated  in  many  successive  editions  of  Sene- 
ca's works,  and  has  of  course  been,  by  reason  of  its 
priority  at  least,  subject  to  selection  ever  since. 

Other  commentators'  names  appear  with  their 
works  in  the  bibliography  appended  to  this  intro- 
duction. Notable  among  the  early  ones  were  C. 
S.  Curio,  Hadrianus  Junius,  Nic.  Faber,  Daniel 
Heinsius,  and  Justus  Lipsius.  The  first  applica- 
tion of  the  title  Apocolocyntosis  to  the  Ludits  of 
the  manuscripts  and  the  first  editions  is  ascribed  to 
Junius.  In  1557  appeared  the  edition  of  Seneca's 
works,  edited  by  Coelius  Secundus  Curio,  in  which 
the  satire  is  printed  with  its  Greek  designation. 
Curio  prefaces  his  own  castigationes  with  the  asser- 
tion that  he  had  himself  applied  the  title  from  Dio, 
and  called  it  to  the  attention  of  Hervagius  several 
years  previously,  before  Junius  in  suis  Animadver- 
sorum  libris  had  independently  come  out  with  the 


EDITIONS  AND   COMMENTATORS  97 

same  idea.  In  this  same  edition  are  also  given  the 
notes  of  Junius,  rather  oddly  with  the  designation, 
In  Senecae  Ludum  de  morte  Clandii^  and  his  own 
claims  for  the  propriety  of  using  Apocolocyntosis 
as  the  title,  repeating  his  earlier  arguments.  The 
edition  reprints,  besides,  the  scholia  of  Rhenanus. 

In  1632,  from  the  Plan  tin  printing-house  at  Ant- 
werp, came  the  third  Lipsius  edition  of  (Lucius) 
Seneca's  works,  with  the  Scholia  ad  Ltidiivt,  by 
Libertus  Fromond,  which  were  repeated  in  the 
fourth  Lipsius  edition  by  the  same  publisher  in 
1652,  and  in  the  Elzevir  edition  of  1672. 

In  1675  appeared  the  notes  of  lo.  Scheffer  to  the 
Apocolocyntosis^  which  are  exigui  momentiy  as  Ruh- 
kopf  says,  but  quaint  enough  to  be  curious. 

During  the  eighteenth  century,  a  period,  so  far 
as  Seneca's  works  were  concerned,  chiefly  of  edi- 
tions with  "  selected  "  notes,  a  few  small  separate 
editions  of  the  Ltidus  were  brought  out,  among 
which  that  of  Neubur  (1729)  is  often  admirable  in 
its  critical  appreciation,  and  that  of  Guasco  (1787) 
is  notable  for  its  introduction  of  epigraphic  and 
numismatic  material  by  way  of  illustration. 

The  edition  of  Seneca  by  Ruhkopf  (Vol.  IV, 
1808)  with  that  of  Sonntag  a  few  years  before, 
made  an  important  epoch  in  the  literary  history  of 
the  satire.  In  some  respects  this  has  found  no 
more  sympathetic  critic  than  Ruhkopf,  who  was 
willing  to  explain  some  of  the  passages  upon 
which  earlier  commentators  had  too  enterprisingly 

H 


98  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

cast  suspicion.  He  also  reverts  to  the  title,  Ludus 
de  Morte,  etc.,  of  his  manuscripts,  instead  of  taking 
the  name  from  Dio.  His  collation  of  the  Paris  and 
Vatican  codices  has  already  been  noted. 

Fickert's  edition  is  noteworthy  for  the  relatively 
greater  importance  which  it  gives  to  a  collation  of 
the  Valenciennes  manuscript.  His  title  is  L,  Annaei 
Senecae  Ludus  de  morte  Claudii.  Schusler  (1844) 
makes  a  more  extensive  use  of  the  St.  Gall  text,  a 
collation  of  which  had  been  made  accessible  by 
Orelli  in  1830,  and  uses  the  name  Apocolocyntosis. 
The  Teubner  edition  of  Seneca,  by  F.  Haase  (1852 
seq.\  is  characteristically  conservative  in  its  treat- 
ment of  the  satire.  It  gives  simply  the  manuscript 
title,  Ludus,  etc.,  and  many  of  the  interpolated 
readings  traditional  from  the  first  edition  are  in- 
cluded in  smaller  type  and  brackets. 

By  far  the  greatest  work  upon  the  Apocolocyn- 
tosis  is  that  of  Professor  Franz  Biicheler,  in  his 
edition  of  1864,  p.  31  seq.,  of  the  Symbola  Philo- 
logorum  Bonnensium.  His  is  the  most  complete 
overhauling  of  the  traditional  text.  Various  de- 
tached critical  contributions  had  been  made  in 
recent  years  by  which  he  could  profit;  but  his 
own  emendations  are  important  and,  for  the  most 
part,  needless  to  say,  convincing.  Conspicuous  is 
the  instance  in  chapter  10,  where,  in  a  meaningless 
string  of  Greek  letters,  he  finds  inverted  the  proverb 
which  appears  in  the  Paroemiographi  Graeci  as 
Vow  Kvr)\i7\'^  e^^iov. 


EDITIONS  AND   COMMENTATORS  99 

Biicheler's  comparisons  of  the  manuscripts  led 
him  to  give  more  unquaUfied  preponderance  to  that 
of  St.  Gall  than  had  any  of  the  other  editors,  and 
he  follows  it  throughout  with  comparatively  few 
exceptions.  Seneca's  authorship  of  the  satire,  and 
its  identity  with  the  work  alluded  to  in  Dio,  Ix.  35, 
he  regards  as  beyond  gainsaying,  and  accordingly 
Apocolocyntosis  is  the  title  which  he  uses.  His 
historical  and  literary  notes  add  much  to  the  store 
of  material  already  accumulated. 

His  text  he  has  reprinted,  with  some  minor 
changes,  in  his  smaller  edition  of  Petronius  in  1871, 
1882,  and  1895. 

Literary  appreciation  of  a  work  like  Seneca*s 
satire  is  perhaps  more  freely  indicated  in  trans- 
lations than  in  textual  criticism.  In  this  direction 
more  has  been  done  by  the  French;  the  remark 
is  a  commonplace  that  they  among  modern  readers 
of  Seneca  have  most  entered  into  his  feeling  for 
style  and  sententious  finish.  The  wit  of  the  bur- 
lesque on  Claudius  they  have  perhaps  not  the  less 
appreciated,  for  regarding  it  less  on  its  problematic 
and  philological  sides. 

Notable  among  the  Frenchmen  who  have  trans- 
lated the  Apocolocyntosis  is  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau. 
His  and  Erasmus's  are  the  two  great  modern  liter- 
ary names  with  which  the  piece  has  special  asso- 
ciations, Erasmus  possibly  owing  the  suggestion 
of  proverbs  from  it  among  his  Adagia  to  the  fact 
that  his  edition  of  Seneca's  works  was  the  first  to 


100  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

include  the  newly  recovered  satire.  Rousseau's 
Traduction  de  V Apocolokintosis  is  of  no  great 
scientific  consequence.  It  was  possibly  written  for 
practice  in  composition,  as  he  says  was  his  trans- 
lation of  the  first  book  of  Tacitus,  in  connection 
with  which  he  so  cheerfully  admits  the  possibility 
of  error :  entendant  mediocrement  le  Latin,  et  son- 
vent  n! entendant  point  mon  auteur.  He  adds  some 
notes,  but  makes  small  pretence  of  investigation. 
For  instance,  in  speaking  of  the  passage,  Phormea 
Graece,  etc.  (according  to  the  traditional  reading, 
c.  lo),  which,  with  more  frankness  than  some  com- 
mentators, he  simply  says  that  he  does  not  under- 
stand at  all,  he  mistakenly  thinks  that  he  might 
have  got  some  help  from  Erasmus's  Adages,  but 
had  not  access  to  them.  The  main  significance 
of  the  translation  is  its  evidence  of  Rousseau's 
liking. 

Another  French  version,  more  interesting  on  its 
own  account,  is  that  of  V.  Develay  of  the  Biblio- 
theque  Ste.  Genevieve,  a  minute  volume  published 
by  the  Acad^mie  des  Bibliophiles  in  1867.  This  is 
apparently  based  on  the  text  in  the  Lemaire  edi- 
tion of  Seneca.  Other  translations  ^  appear  in  the 
numerous  editions  of  Seneca's  works  in  French. 
Among  the  more  recent  German  translations  may 
be  noted  that  given  by  A.  Stahr  as  a  documentary 
appendix  to  his  Agrippina.     Still  later  is  the  Italian 

1  Duruy,  in  his  Histoire  des  Romains  (Vol.  III.  p.  551),  gives  an 
extended  resume  of  the  Apocolocyntosis  in  its  historical  connection. 


EDITIONS  AND    COMMENT^ATQR^      .  .  .  JQI, 

version  by  Verdaro,  which  is  based  upon  Biicheler's 
recension  of  the  text. 

In  English  a  translation  of  the  Apocolocyntosis 
has  but  very  lately  been  published.  It  is  by  For- 
rest Morgan,  in  a  collection  called  the  Universal 
Anthology  {iS()()-i(^2)\  its  readings  are  not  from 
the  most  recently  edited  texts.  The  well-known 
version  of  the  Works  of  Seneca  by  Thomas  Lodge 
(London,  1620,  etc.)  does  not  contain  the  satire.^ 

If  a  classification  were  to  be  made  of  the  com- 
mentators who,  either  in  editions  or  in  detached 
notes,  have  contributed  to  the  criticism  of  the 
Apocolocyntosis y  it  might  fairly  be  by  way  of  recall- 
ing Lipsius's  dream  on  the  emenders  of  the  clas- 
sics, according  to  their  inclinations  to  explain 
things  as  they  are  or  fix  them  as  they  should  have 
been.  From  disputed  passages  in  the  text  an 
interesting  list  could  be  gathered  of  philological 
motes  rather  too  easily  cast  out,  including  for 
instance  such  as  aeqtie  Homericus  (c.  5),  con- 
demned by  Biicheler,  Wehle,  and  Wachsmuth, 
Ltigudtmi  natus  est  (c.  6),  by  Mahly  and  Wachs- 
muth, iusserat  illi  colhim  praecidi  (c.  6),  rejected 
by  Biicheler  in  his  edition  of  1864,  but  in  his  later 
text  made  an  integral  part  of  the  thought  by  a 
rearrangement  of  the  sentences,  aut  ex  his  qtios 
alit  ^€LScopo<;  apovpa  (c.  9),  branded  as  a  gloss  by 
Heinsius,  Scheffer,  Wachsmuth,  etc.,  and  numer- 

1  Merivale  quotes  from  it  extensively  in  his  History  of  the 
Romans  under  the  Empire  (ch.  50). 


Ip2  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

ous  others.  In  proposed  changes  in  the  text,  the 
line  is  of  course  difficult  to  draw  between  a  clever 
conjecture  and  a  convincing  correction,  and  inge- 
nuity is  apt  to  carry  more  than  its  due  weight. 
An  example  of  this  kind,  it  seems  to  me,  is 
Biicheler's  Tiburi  for  tibi  in  chapter  7,  which  is 
interesting  but  not  required.  In  general  the  im- 
provements of  the  text  have  been  to  a  great  extent 
a  process  of  eliminating  the  interpolations  which 
appeared  in  the  editio  princeps,  some  of  which  the 
manuscripts  exhibit  in  varying  degrees,  but  from 
which  the  St.  Gall  and  Valenciennes  codices^  as  the 
oldest,  are  most  nearly  free.  Another  important 
matter  has  been  the  identification  of  the  omitted 
or  hopelessly  corrupt  Greek  quotations. 

Such  a  work  as  our  satire  is  of  course  largely 
a  matter  of  allusion  only  partially  capable  of  eluci- 
dation. And  it  is  a  graceless  editorial  function 
to  say  at  every  turn,  this  is  the  point  of  the  joke, 
and  incidentally,  it  was  first  seen  and  recorded  by 
such  and  such  a  commentator.  Yet  after  all,  the 
points  are  the  main  thing,  though  that  they  should 
become  altogether  obvious  now  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected. As  a  result  of  the  unstinted  efforts  of  the 
critics  to  make  them  so,  there  appear  to  us  fairly 
defined  gradations,  from  very  palpable  hits,  through 
probable  and  possible  hits,  down  to  matters  which 
bear  no  sign  of  being  hits  at  all.  Occasionally,  as 
has  been  realized  with  some  modern  authors,  a 
passage  may  be  made  to  mean  too  much;   this 


EDITIONS  AND    COMMENTATORS  IO3 

seems  to  be  the  trouble  with  such  an  emenda- 
tion as  that  of  omnia  monstra  (c.  6)  to  iicnonia 
monstra. 

In  reading  three-hundred-year-old  annotations 
upon  a  work  which  still  invites  to  similar  effort, 
one  is  struck  by  the  difference  between  the  atti- 
tude of  the  men  of  the  early  classical  revival  and 
that  of  the  typical  philologian  of  the  last  half-cen- 
tury. The  style  of  commentary  which  consists 
chiefly  in  calling  attention  to  scntentiae  elegantes 
and  their  kind  has  of  course  long  gone  out  of 
fashion.  Yet  though  it  is  easy  and  not  very  use- 
ful, it  does  indicate  an  enjoyment  of  its  classic 
material  no  less  real  than  ostentatious.  It  seems, 
too,  quite  possible  that  the  most  exact  scholarship 
has  not  always  succeeded  in  making  the  most  of 
the  chestnuts  which  it  has  managed  to  pull  out 
of  the  fire.  The  simplicity  of  the  earlier  day  led 
to  various  naYvet6s,  some  of  them  due  perhaps  to 
the  deterrent  effect  of  writing  in  a  language  whose 
current  idioms  had  become  proper  in  propor- 
tion as  they  were  hackneyed ;  the  respectable 
schoolman,  adapting  his  ideas  to  the  phrases  the 
classical  flavor  of  which  would  unimpeachably 
show  his  appreciation  of  style,  satisfied  himself 
with  little  or  pleased  himself  with  much,  as  one 
may  choose  to  put  it.  But  when  the  method  of 
dealing  with  the  classics  as  a  mesh  of  scientific 
problems  has  passed  a  certain  point,  the  claims  of 
simple  appreciation,  aided  by  all  that  the  other 


I04  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

has  done  for  its  psychological  requirements,  renew 
their  force.  The  Apocolocyntosis,  for  its  part,  will 
serve  quite  as  well  for  entertainment  as  for  a  mine 
of  philological  material. 

I  have  perhaps  gone  to  too  great  a  length  in 
introducing  it,  to  avow  my  purpose  in  the  quaint 
words  of  Rhenanus,  quo  magis  ad  se  lectorem  .  .  . 
invitet.  This,  however,  is  to  be  desired.  For 
while  the  Apocolocyntosis  cannot  precisely  be  called 
a  representative  specimen  of  Seneca's  works,  its 
place  in  them  is  important.  Belonging  as  it  does 
to  his  relations  with  two  emperors,  it  is  not  only 
intimately  connected  with  his  life  as  a  statesman, 
but  cannot  be  overlooked  in  the  true  representa- 
tion of  his  temper  as  a  philosopher. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

EDITIONS   OF   SENECA'S  WORKS, 
Since  the  Inclusion  of  the  Ludus:   a  Partial  List^ 

Opera  Utriusque  Seneca,  Basileae,  151 5;  fol.  (Erasmus's  first 
edition  ;  containing  the  Scholia  ad  Ludum  by  Beatus  Rhe- 
nanus) . 

The  same,  Basil.,  1529;  fol.  (Erasmus's  second  ed.). 

The  same,  Basil.,  1537  ;  fol.  (Erasmus's  third  ed.). 

*  L.   Annaei   Senecae   Philosophi,    etc.     Opera  quae   extant 

omnia,  Coelii  Secundi  Curionis  vigilantissima  cura  casti- 

gata,  etc.,  Basileae,  1557;  fol.  (containing  with  the  Ludtis 

the  Scholia  of  B.  Rhenanus,  and  the  annotations  of  Curio  and 

of  Hadrianus  Junius). 
L.  Annaei  Senecae  Opera,  cum  notis  M.  Antonii  Mureti,  etc. ; 

Romae,  1585;  fol. 
L.  Annaei  Senecae  Philosophi  et  M.  Annaei  Senecae  Rhetoris 

Opera  quae  exstant  omnia  (with  selected  notes)  —  curante 

Nic.  Fabro,  Parisiis  1587;  fol. 

*  L.  Ann.  Senecae  Philosophi  Opera  quae  exstant  omnia  — 

huic  editioni  accesserunt  Summaria,  etc.  —  Auctore 
Dionysio  Gothofredo,  Basileae,  1590;  Svo  (The  works 
of  Seneca  Rhetor  are  in  this  edition  all  included  under  the 
name  of  L.  Ann.  Sen. ;  the  text  of  the  Ltidus  is  not 
annotated). 
L.  Annaeus  Seneca  a  M.  Antonio  Mureto  correctus  et  notis 
illustratus.      Acced.    Animadversiones  —  lani    Gruteri. 

^  Works  that  are  marked  with  an  asterisk  have  been  examined 
in  the  preparation  of  the  present  edition. 

105 


I06  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

Heidelb.,  1593;   fol.  (containing  also  the  works  of  M.  An- 

naeus  Seneca,  collated  by  Gruter  with  the  texts  in  the  Palatine 

library). 
L.  Ann.   Senecae  Philosophi  Opera  quae   exstant  omnia,  a 

Justo    Lipsio    emendata,    etc.,    Antverpiae,    1605 ;    fol. 

(Lipsius's  first  ed.). 
The  same,  Antverpiae,  161 5  ;  fol.  (Lipsius's  second  ed.). 
L.  Ann.  Senecae  Philos.  et  M.  Ann.   Senecae  Rhet.  quae 

exstant  opera,  Amstelodami  et  Lugduni   Batav.,  1619; 

8vo  (prefixed  is  the  oration  of  D.  Heinsius  de  Stoica  philo- 

sophia;  with  selected  notes,  including  those  of  Rhenanus, 

Faber,  and  Junius  to  the  Apocolocyntosis), 

*  L.  Ann.  Senecae  Philosophi  Opera  omnia,  ex  ultima  J.  Lipsii 

emendatione  et  M.  Ann.  Senecae  Rhetoris  quae  exstant, 
ex  Andr.  Schotti  recens,  Amstelodami,  1628  ;  (2  volL). 
L.  Ann.  Senecae  Philosophi  Opera,  a  Justo  Lipsio  emendata 
et  scholiis  illustrata.  Aucta  Liberti  Fromondi  scholiis 
ad  Quaestiones  Naturales  et  Ludum  de  Morte  Claudii 
Caesaris,  Antverpiae,  1632  ;  fol.  (Lipsius's  third  ed.) 

*  The  same,  Antverpiae,  1652  ;  fol.  (Lipsius's  fourth  ed.). 

The  text  of  Lipsius's  third  edition  was  used  in  several  other  edi- 
tions, among  them  the  Elzevir  i2mo  of  Ley  den  (Lugduni 
Batav.)  1640. 

L.  Ann.  Senecae  .  .  .  Opera  omnia,  ex  ult.  J.  Lipsii  et  J.  F. 
Gronovii  emendat,  et  M.  Ann.  Senecae  quae  exstant,  ex 
A.  Schottii  recens  (Elzevir),  Lugduni  Bat.,  1649;  3  volL, 
l2mo  (Gronovius's  first  ed.). 

♦The  same  (Elzevir),  Amstelodami,  1659;  i2mo  (Gronovius's 
second  ed.). 

*  M.  et  L.  Annaei  Senecae  Opera,  (Elzevir)  Amstelodami, 

1672  ;  8vo  (containing  the  notes  of  Lipsius  and  Gronovius, 
and   others    selected,   including  those    of   Fromond    to  the 

*  ATTOfCoXoKlJj'TWtrts) . 

Based  upon  the  above  were  the  editions  of  Leipzig  (Lipsiae), 
1702,  1 741,  and  1770,  with  selected  annotation  (Weid- 
mann,   8vo). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  IO7 

*  L.  Annaei  Senecae  Philosophi  Opera  ad  optimas  editiones 

collata,  Biponti,  1782;  4  voll.,  8vo ;  praemitiitur  notitia 
liter  aria  studiis  Socieiatis  Bip07ttinae . 

*  L.  Annaei  Senecae  Philosophi  Opera  omnia  quae  supersunt. 

Recognovit  et  illustravit  Frid.  Ern.  Ruhkopf,  Lipsiae, 
1797-1811  ;  5  voll.,  8vo. 

*  Omnia  Opera  quae  vulgo  exstant  sub  nomine  L.  A.  Senecae ; 

(Part  I,  edited  by  M.  N.  Bouillet,  with  his  own  and  selected 
notes,  largely  from  Ruhkopf,  and  with  an  extensive  Index 
Liter arius),  in  Bibliotheca  Classica  Latina  (Lemaire), 
Parisiis,  1 827-1 832. 

*  L.  Annaei  Senecae  Opera  ad  libros  manuscriptos  et  impresses 

recensuit,  commentaries  criticos  subiecit,  etc.  C.  R.  Fick- 
ert,  Lipsiae,  1 842-1 845  ;  3  voll.,  8vo. 

*  L.  Annaei  Senecae  Opera  quae  supersunt  recognovit,  etc. 

Frid.  Haase,  Lipsiae,  1852  seq,;  3  voll.  (Teubner). 

*  L.  Annaei  Senecae  Opera,  etc.,  ed.  Holtze,  Lipsiae,  1869- 

^^^9  5  5  voll.  (Tauchnitz). 

*  Lucius  Annaeus  Seneca  des  Philosophen  Werke,  ubersetzt 

von  J.  M.  Moser,  A.  Pauly,  u.  A.  Haakh;  Stuttgart, 
1828-185 1  ;  (Spottschrift  iiber  den  Tod  des  Kaisers  Claudius 
in  B'dchen  8,  Moser,  1829). 

*  CEuvres  completes  de  S^n^que  le  Philosophe,  avec  la  tra- 

duction en  frangais  de  M.  Nisard  [E.  Regnault,  and 
others],  Paris,  1863.  On  p.  375,  Facetie  sur  la  mort  de 
Qaude  Cesar,  vulgairement  appelee  Apokolokyntose,  traduc- 
tion nouvelle  par  M.  Haureau. 

*  CEuvres  completes  de  S^neque  le   Philosophe ;   traduction 

nouvelle  par  MM.  Ajasson  de  Grandsagne,  Baillard, 
Charpentier,  etc.  BibHoth^que  Latine-fran^aise  publi^e 
par  C.  L.  F.  Panckoucke,  voll.  140-147.  In  Vol.  141, 
Paris,  1833,  Facetie  satirique  sur  la  mort  du  Cesar  Claude, 
vulgairement  appelee  Apokolokyntose;  traduction  nouvelle 
par  M.  Ch.  du  Rozoir.  Later  editions  of  this  appeared  in 
1860-1861  and  1867-1873. 


I08  THE   SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

*  CEuvres  completes  de  Sdn^que  le  Philosophe ;   traduction 

nouvelle  avec  une  notice  sur  la  vie  et  les  Merits  de  Tauteur 
et  des  notes  par  J.  Baillard;  2  torn.,  Paris,  1860-1861. 
In  Vol.  I,  p.  265 :  Apotheose  Burlesque  du  Cesar  Claude, 
vulgairement  dite  Apokolokyntose. 

SEPARATE   EDITIONS   OF  THE   SATIRE 

*  Lucii  Annaei  Senecae  in  morte  Claudii  Caesaris  Ludus  nuper 

repertus,  Romae,  MDXIII ;  4to,  Editio  Princeps,  with  dedi- 
catory letter  by  the  editor,  C.  Sylvanus  Germanicus;   see  p.  92. 

Ludus  L.  Annaei  Senecae  de  morte  Claudii  Caesaris  nuper  in 
Germania  repertus  cum  Scholiis  Beati  Rhenani;  with 
Synesius  Cyrenensis  de  Laudibus  Calvitii  and  Erasmi  Rotero- 
dami  Moriae  Encojnium ;  Basil.,  MDXV. ;  4to. 

The  same,  Basil.,  1517  and  1519,  4to;  i52i,8vo;  1522,  4to;  Paris, 
1524,  4to. 

L.  Ann.  Senecae  Ludus  in  mortem  Claudii  Caesar,  cum  Scho- 
liis B.  Rhenani,  Basil.,  155 1 ;  8vo. 

L.  Ann.  Senecae  'ATroKoXoKwroxris,  Lutetiae,  ap.  Fed.  Morel- 
lum,  1597;  8vo. 

De  Morte  Claudii  Caesaris  Ludus,  in  Satyrae  Elegantiores 
Praestantium  Virorum,  Lugduni  Batav.,  1655 ;  i2mo, 
torn.  I,  p.  214. 

*  Tres  Satyrae  Menippeae  (Senecae  Apocolocyntosis^  Lipsii  Som- 

nium,  Cunaei  Sardi  Venules) y  with  notes  by  Gottl.  Cortius 
(Korte),  Lipsiae,  1720. 
Traduction    de    TApokolokyntosis   de    Sdn^que,   par  I'abb^ 
Esquieu ;  dans  les  Mdm.  de  Littdr.  et  d'Histoire,  par  de 
Moletz,  Paris,  1726,  vol.  I.     [hidex  Lit.,  Ed.  Lemaire.] 

*  Poematia  quaedam  Senecae  Philosophi  ex  Apocolocyntosi, 

in  Corpus   Poetarum   Latinorum  (Opera  et  Fragmenta 
Veterum  Poetarum  Latinorum),  London,  1713;  fol. 
The  same  (?)  reprinted,  1721. 

*  Apokolokyntosis  oder  des  Lucius  Annaeus   Seneca  Spott- 

gedichte  oder  Satyre  Uber  den  Tod  und  die  Vergotterung 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  IO9 

des  Kaysers  Claudius ;   verdeutscht  und  erlautert  durch 
Fr.  Chr.  Neubur  (with  Latin  text),  Leipzig,  1729. 

*  Traduction   de  TApocolokintosis    \^sic\    de   S^n^que,  J.  J. 

Rousseau,  CEuvres,  Geneve,  VoL  II,  1781  ;  Paris,  1839, 
VoL  V  ;  etc. 

*  L.  A.   Senecae  'ATroKoXoKwrcDo-t?  sive   Ludus   in   mortem 

Claudii  Caesaris,  etc.,  a  Fr.  Erg.  Guasco  illustratus,  Ver- 

cellis,  1787. 
L.  Annaeus  Seneca,  Apokolokyntosis,  oder  Satyre  auf  Kaiser 

Claudius  Vergotterung,  ubersetzt  und  erlautert,  C.  G. 

Sonntag;    in  Zur  Unterhaltung  der  Freunde  der  alten 

Litteratur,  2  Heft  (p.  69),  Riga,  1790. 
Vergotterung  des  Kaisers  Claudius  nebst  einer  hingehorenden 

Stelle  aus  den  Sprichwortern  des  Erasmus,  libers,  von  Ad. 

Groninger,  MUnster,  1798. 

*  L.  Annaei  Senecae  Apocolocyntosis,  denuo  recensita  et  an- 

notatione   illustrata,   dissertation  by   L.    C.   E.   Schusler, 
Utrecht,  1844. 
E.  Guthling :  des  L.  Ann.  Seneca  Apokolokyntosis  ubersetzt 
und  erlautert;  Gymn.  Prog.,  Minden,  1861. 

*  Divi   Claudii  'ATroKoXoKvvrcoo't?,  eine   Satire  des  Annaeus 

Seneca  herausgegeben  von  Franz  Blicheler,  in  the  Symbola 
Philologorum  Bonnensium,  Fasc.  i  (p.  31),  1864. 

*  Revised  text  by  the  same  with  his  Petronius,  Editio  Minor, 

Beriin,  1871,  1882,  1895. 

*  Sdn^que :  Apocoloquintose,  fac^tie  sur  la  mort  de  I'empereur 

Claude ;  Traduction  nouvelle  par  Victor  Develay,  Paris 
Academie  des  Bibliophiles,  1 867. 

*  Senecas  Apocolocyntosis,  Ubersetzt  von  Ad.  Stahr ;  in  his 

Agrippina,  Berlin,  1867  (p.  307  seq.). 

*  L.  Annaei  Senecae  de  morte  Claudii  Caesaris  ludus  vulgo 

dictus 'A7roKoAoKWTa)o-t9,  Augustae  Taurinorum,  1877. 

*  Divi   Claudii   Apocolocynthosis,   Satira  di   Anneo   Seneca 

tradotta  ed  illustrata  da  G.  Verdaro,  Roma  —  Firenze  — 
Torino  (E.  Loescher),  1886  ,•  8vo/ 


no  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

*  Seneca's  Apocolocyntosis,  transl.  by  Forrest  Morgan  ;  in  the 

Universal  Anthology^  London  and  New  York,  1 899-1 902 
(Vol.  vii.). 

'   Detached  Commentaries,  Criticisms,  etc. 

*  ASBACH,  J. :  Die  Consulate  der  iulisch-claudischen  Kaiser  bei 

Sueton.     Rh.  Mus.  (N.  F.),  35,  174.     (Note,  p.  182.) 

*  Baehrens,  Emil:  Kritische  Satura^  Jahrbb.  f.  class.  Phil. 

105  (1872),  627. 

*  Baumstark,  a.  :   Varro  und  Seneca,  Philol.  xviii,  543. 

*  BiRT,  Th.  :  De  Senecae  apocolocyntosi  et  apotheosi  lucubratio 

(Ind.  Lect.  Acad.  Marpurgensi,  hib.  1 888-1 889),  Mar- 
purgi,  1888. 

*  Boissieu,  a.  de  :    Inscriptions  Antiques  de  Lyon,  Lyon, 

1846-1854  (pp.  125,  133  seq.,  365). 

*  BOXHORN,  M.  Z. :   Quaes tiones  Romanae,  xv,  Lugd.  Batav. 

1636;  in  Thesaur.  Antiq.  Rom.,  Venetiis,  1732. 

*  Bucheler,  Fr.  :   Coniectanea   Critica,  Rh.   Mus.   (N.F.) 

13,  573- 

*  Id.  :    Bemerkungen    uber   die  varronischen   Satiren,   Rh. 

Mus.  (N.F.)  14^/19;   (esp.  p.  447)- 

*  COLLIGNON,  A. :  Etude  sur  Petrone,  Paris,  1882 ;  (esp.  pp. 

26-31  and  309-311). 

*  Crusius,  Christianus:  Probabilia  Critica,  Lipsiae,  1753; 

pp.  169-170. 

*  Diderot,  D.  :  Essai  sur  les  r^gnes  de  Claude  et  de  Neron 

et  sur  les  moeurs  et  les  ecrits  de  Sen^que,  2  vol.,  London, 
1782,  etc. 

*  Erasmus,   D.  :   Adagiorum  .  .  .  chiliades  Quattuor,  etc., 

Colon.  Allobrogum,   MDCXII,   (published   earher,   15 15); 
chil.  I,  cent,  iii,  l ;   cent,  v,  10. 

*  Flo  GEL,  C.  F. :  Geschichte  der  komischen  Litter atur,  4  vol. 

Leipzig,  1784-1787;  Vol.  II,  pp.  32-37. 
FriedlXnder,    L.  :    Coniectanea   in  Senecae  Sat.   Menipp. 
(Index  Lect.  Univ.  Kdnigsberg,hib.  1873-1874),  Konigs- 
berg,  1873. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  III 

*  Id.  :  Der  Philosoph  Seneca^  Historische  Zeitschrift  (N.  F.) 

49  (1900).  193- 

*  Gertz,  M.  C.  :  Adnotatiunculae  criticae  in  libellum  satiri- 

cum  qui  nunc  vulgo  inscribitur  Apocolocyntosis,  Jahrbb. 
f.  class.  Philologie,  137  (1888),  843. 

*  Haupt,  M.  :   Op2iscula,  Vol.  II,  Lipsiae,  1876 ;  pp.  281-285. 

(Index  Lect.  hib.  1864  incipit,  p.  267.) 

*  Havet,  E.  :  DApocolocyntose  de  Senlque^  Rdv.  politique  et 

litteraire,  7  Fevr.  1874. 

*  Heinsius,  D.  :  Dissertatio  de  libello  L,  Annaei  Senecae  in 

Claudium^  sive  Claudii  Apocolocyntosi,  et  praesertim  de 
inscriptionis  causa ;  with  his  Orationes,  Lugduni  Batav., 
1620,  1627,  etc.  ;   (in  ed.  of  1620,  p.  490  seq.), 
Heumann,  C.  a.  :    Index  Expurgatorius  ad  Se7iecae  'Attoko- 
Ao/cvvTCDcrtv  ;  in  Acta  Erud.,  Lips.,  Suppl.  VI,  296. 

*  Jonas,  F.  :  Zu  Seneca  ;  Hermes,  vi,  126. 

lUNius,  Hadr.  :  Animadversa,  I,  17,  in  Gruteri  Lamp,  crit., 
vol.  iv.  p.  342  seq,  (tt.  Ruhkopf  ,&  Schusler.  Cf.  ed.  Senecae 
Oper.  1557). 

*  Klebs,   E.  :    Das  dynastische  Element   in   der   Geschicht- 

schreibung  der  romischen   Kaiserzeit,   Historische  Zeit- 
schrift (N.F.),  25  (1889),  215. 
Kraffert  :  JVeue  Beitrdge  z,  Krit.  u.  ErkL  lat.  Aut.j  Ver- 
den,  1888  (t.  Wachsmuth). 

*  Leutsch,  E.  v.  :  Seneca  {?)  Apocolocynt,,  c.  9;  Philologus, 

xxviii  (1869),  85. 

*  LiNDEMANN,  F. :  Emendationes  ad  L.  Annaei  Senecae  Ludum 

in  mortem  Claudii  Caesaris  (in  mem.  Gasp.  Seligmann), 
Zittaviae,  1832. 

*  LiPSius,  J. :  Episiolicarum  Quaestionum  Liber  II,  Epist.  24. 

(Ludovico  Carrioni)  in  Lipsi  Opera  Omnia,  Vol.  I,  Ve- 
saliae,  1675. 

*  Lysander,  a.  Th.  :    Questiones  Criticae  et  Grammaticae 

(Diss.  Inaug.),  Lundae,  1863 ;  pp.  68,  70,  75. 

*  Mahly,  J.:    Zur  Kritik  lateinischer  Texte,   Basel,  1886; 

p.  24  seq. 


112  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

*  Merivale,  Ch.  :  History  of  the  Romans  under  the  Empire ^ 

New  York,  1875  5  (c-  50,  fin.). 
Orelli,  I.  C.  :  Epistola  Critica  ad  Madvigium^  prefixed  to  his 
edition  of  Cicero's  Orator ^  Brutus,  etc.,  Turici,  1 830. 

*  Otto,  A. :  Die  Sprichw'drter  und  sprichw'drtlichen  Redens- 

arten  der  R'dmer^  Leipzig,  1890  ;  (passim). 

*  Riese,  a.  :  Jahresberichte,  24  {Die  menippeischen  Satiren), 

Philologus,  xxvii  (1868),  321. 

*  RossBACH,  O.'.  De  Senecae  Philosophi  librorum  recensione  et 

emendatione,  ///,  de  Apocolocyntosis  codice  Valenciennensi, 
in  Breslauer  Philologische  Abhandlung,  8  Bd.,  Breslau, 
1888. 
Rutgers,  J. :    Variarum  Lectionum  (t.  Schusler)  Libri  VI^ 
Leyden,  161 8. 

*  Scheffer,  Jo.  :  Notae  in  L.  Annaei  Senecae  Apocolocynto- 

sin^  in  his  Lectionum  Academicarum  Liber,  Hamburgi, 
1675.  The  same  in  his  Miscellanea,  Amstelaedami  {sic\, 
1698. 

*  SCHENKL,  K. :  Beitrdge  zur  Kritik  des  L.  Annaeus  Seneca, 

Sitzungsberichte  der  kaiserlichen  Akademie  der  Wissen- 
schaften  (Philosophisch-historischen  Classe),  Wien,  Bd. 
44  (1863),  3. 

*  Schmidt,  ^.\  Zu  Senecas  Apocolocyntosis,  Jahrbb.  f.  class. 

Philol.,  93,  551. 

*  Id.  :  Zur  Apokolokyntosis,  Rh.  Mus.,  N.  F.  33,  637. 

*  TuRNEBUS,  Adr.  :   Adversariorum  libri  xxiiii,  Paris,  1564; 

(passim). 
UssiNG,  J.  L. :  Kritiske  Bemaerkninger  til  Senecas  Satire  over 
Claudiuses  Apotheose,  Tidskrift  for  Philologi  og  Paed.  II 
(1861),  333. 

*  Vavaseur,  Fr.  :    De  Ludicra  Dictione  liber,  Paris,  1658 ; 

p.  245. 

*  Wachsmuth,  C.  :   Zu  Senecas  Apocolocyntosis,  Leipziger 

Studien,  11 2,  337. 

*  Wehle,  VJ,:  Zu  Senecas  ludus  de  morte  Claudii,  Rh.  Mus., 

17  (1862),  622. 


SENECAE    APOCOLOCYNTOSIS 


L.  ANNAEI  SENECAE  LUDUS  DE 
MORTE  CLAUDII  CAESARIS 
VEL     APOCOLOCYNTOSIS 

Quid  actum  sit  in  caelo  ante  diem  III.  idus  i 
Octobris  anno  novo,  initio  saeculi  felicissimi,  volo 
memoriae  tradere.  nihil  nee  offensae  nee  gratiae 
dabitur.  haec  ita  vera,  si  quis  quaesiverit  unde 
5  sciam,  primum,  si  noluero,  non  respondebo.  quis 
coacturus  est  ?  ego  scio  me  liberum  factum,  ex 
quo  suum  diem  obiit  ille,  qui  verum  proverbium 
fecerat,  aut  regem  aut  fatuum  nasci  oportere.  si 
libuerit  respondere,  dicam   quod   mihi  in  buccam 

lo  venerit.  quis  unquam  ab  historico  iuratores  exe- 
git  ?  tamen  si  necesse  fuerit  auctorem  producere, 
quaerito  ab  eo  qui  Drusillam  euntem  in  caelum 
vidit :  idem  Claudium  vidisse  se  dicet  iter  f  acien- 
tem  '  non  passibus  acquis.*     velit  nolit,  necesse  est 

15  illi  omnia  videre,  quae  in  caelo  aguntur :  Appiae 
viae  curator  est,  qua  scis  et  divum  Augustum  et 
Tiberium  Caesarem  ad  deos  isse.  hunc  si  interro- 
gaveris,  soli  narrabit :  coram  pluribus  nunquam 
verbum  faciet.     nam  ex  quo  in  senatu  iuravit  se 

The  readings  of  Biicheler's  edi^io  7ninort  where  different  froni 
those  of  the  text,  are  given  in  foot-notes. 


Il6  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

Drusillam  vidisse  caelum  ascendentem  et  illi  pro 
tarn  bono  nuntio  nemo  credidit,  quod  viderit  verbis 
conceptis  affirmavit  se  non  indicaturum,  etiam  si  in 
medio  foro  hominem  occisum  vidisset.  ab  hoc  ego 
quae  tum  audivi,  certa  clara  aff ero,  ita  ilium  salvum  5 
et  felicem  habeam. 

2       iam  Phoebus  breviore  via  contraxerat  ortum 
lucis  et  obscuri  crescebant  tempora  somni, 
iamque  suum  victrix  augebat  Cynthia  regnum 
et  deformis  hiemps  gratos  carpebat  honores         10 
divitis  autumni  visoque  senescere  Baccho 
carpebat  raras  serus  vindemitor  uvas. 

puto  magis  intellegi,  si  dixero :  mensis  erat  Octo- 
ber, dies  III.  idus  Octobris.  horam  non  possum 
certam  tibi  dicere,  facilius  inter  philosophos  quam  15 
inter  horologia  conveniet,  tamen  inter  sextam  et 
septimam  erat.  *  nimis  rustice  !  '  inquies  :  *  sunt 
omnes  poetae  non  contenti  ortus  et  occasus  de- 
scribere,  ut  etiam  medium  diem  inquietent;  tu  sic 
transibis  horam  tam  bonam  ?  *  20 

iam  medium  curru  Phoebus  diviserat  orbem 
et  propior  nocti  f essas  quatiebat  habenas 
obliquo  flexam  deducens  tramite  lucem : 

3    Claudius  animam  agere  coepit  nee  invenire  exitum 
poterat.     tum  Mercurius,  qui  semper  ingenio  eius  25 
delectatus  esset,  unam  e  tribus  Parcis  seducit  et 

2  \j2Uod  viderii\,         "^  ortum,  orbe^n.         ^^  visoque,  iussoque. 
1^  sunt,  cutn,  ^^  \j*^\ 


SENECAE  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  II7 

ait :  '  quid,  femina  crudelissima,  hominem  miserum 
torqueri  pateris  ?  nee  unquam  tarn  diu  cruciatus 
cesset  ?  annus  sexagesimus  quartus  est,  ex  quo  cum 
anima  luctatur.     quid  huic  et  rei  publicae  invides  ? 

5  patere  mathematicos  aliquando  verum  dicere,  qui 
ilium,  ex  quo  princeps  factus  est,  omnibus  annis, 
omnibus  mensibus  efferunt.  et  tanien  non  est 
mirum  si  errant  et  horam  eius  nemo  novit ;  nemo 
enim  unquam  ilium  natum  putavit.     fac  quod  faci- 

10  endum  est : 

"  dede  neci,  melior  vacua  sine  regnet  in  aula." ' 

sed  Clotho  *  ego  mehercules '  inquit  *  pusillum  tem- 
poris  adicere  illi  volebam,  dum  hos  pauculos,  qui 
supersunt,  civitate  donaret;  constituerat  enim  omnes 

15  Graecos,  Gallos,  Hispanos,  Britannos  togatos  videre ; 
sed  quoniam  placet  aliquos  peregrinos  in  semen 
relinqui  et  tu  ita  iubes  fieri,  fiat.'  aperit  tum  capsu- 
1am  et  tres  f usos  prof ert :  unus  erat  Augurini,  alter 
Babae,  tertius  Claudii.     *  hos '  inquit  *  tres  uno  anno 

20  exiguis  intervallis  temporum  divisos  mori  iubebo, 
nee  ilium  incomitatum  dimittam.  non  oportet  enim 
eum,  qui  modo  se  tot  milia  hominum  sequentia  vide- 
bat,  tot  praecedentia,  tot  circumfusa,  subito  solum 
destitui.     contentus  erit  his  interim  convictoribus/ 

25  haec  ait  et  turpi  convolvens  stamina  fuso 
abrupit  stolidae  regalia  tempora  vitae. 
at  Lachesis  redimita  comas,  ornata  capillos, 

1*  constituerat  .  .  .  videre,  enclosed  in  dashes. 


Il8  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

Pieria  crinem  lauro  frontemque  coronans 

Candida  de  niveo  subtemina  vellere  sumit 

felici  moderanda  manu,  quae  ducta  colorem 

assumpsere  novum,     mirantur  pensa  sorores : 

mutatur  vilis  pretioso  lana  metallo,  5 

aurea  formoso  descendunt  saecula  filo. 

nee  modus  est  illis,  felicia  vellera  ducunt 

et  gaudent  implere  manus,  sunt  dulcia  pensa. 

sponte  sua  festinat  opus  nulloque  labore 

mollia  contorto  descendunt  stamina  fuso.  lo 

vincunt  Tithoni,  vincunt  et  Nestoris  annos. 

Phoebus  adest  cantuque  iuvat  gaudetque  futuris 

et  laetus  nunc  plectra  movet,  nunc  pensa  ministrat 

detinet  intentas  cantu  fallitque  laborem. 

dumque  nimis  citharam  fraternaque  carmina  15 

laudant, 
plus  solito  nevere  manus  humanaque  fata 
laudatum  transcendit  opus.    '  ne  demite,  Parcae ' 
Phoebus  ait  *  vincat  mortalis  tempora  vitae 
ille  mihi  similis  vultu  similisque  decore 
nee  cantu  nee  voce  minor,     felicia  lassis  20 

saecula  praestabit  legumque  silentia  rumpet. 
qualis  discutiens  fugientia  Lucifer  astra 
aut  qualis  surgit  redeuntibus  Hesperus  astris, 
qualis  cum  primum  tenebris  Aurora  solutis 
induxit  rubicunda  diem,  Sol  aspicit  orbem  25 

lucidus  et  primos  a  carcere  concitat  axes : 
talis  Caesar  adest,  talem  iam  Roma  Neronem 
aspiciet.     flagrat  nitidus  fulgore  remisso 
vultus  et  adfuso  cervix  formosa  capillo/ 


SENECAE  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  II9 

haec  Apollo,  at  Lachesis,  quae  et  ipsa  homini 
formosissimo  faveret,  fecit  illud  plena  manu,  et 
Neroni  multos  annos  de  suo  donat.  Claudium 
autem  iubent  omnes 

5  yaipovTa^^  €v(l)rjjJLOVVTa<;  eKTri^ireiv  SofjLcov, 

et  ille  quidem  animam  ebulliit,  et  ex  eo  desiit  vivere 
videri.  expiravit  autem  dum  comoedos  audit,  ut 
scias  me  non  sine  causa  illos  timere.  ultima  vox 
eius  haec  inter  homines  audita  est,  cum  maiorem 

10  sonitum  emisisset  ilia  parte,  qua  facilius  loqueba- 
tur :  *  vae  me,  puto,  concacavi  me.*  quod  an  fece- 
rit,  nescio  :  omnia  certe  concacavit. 

quae  in  terris  postea  sint  acta,  supervacuum  est  5 
referre.     scitis  enim  optime,  nee  periculum  est  ne 

15  excidant  quae  memoriae  gaudium  publicum  impres- 
serit:  nemo  felicitatis  suae  obliviscitur.  in  caelo 
quae  acta  sint,  audite :  fides  penes  auctorem  erit. 
nuntiatur  lovi  venisse  quendam  bonae  staturae, 
bene  canum ;    nescio    quid    ilium    minari,  assidue 

20  enim  caput  movere ;  pedem  dextrum  trahere. 
quaesisse  se,  cuius  nationis  esset :  respondisse  ne- 
scio quid  perturbato  sono  et  voce  conf usa ;  non  in- 
tellegere  se  linguam  eius,  nee  Graecum  esse  nee 
Romanum  nee  ullius  gentis  notae.     tum  luppiter 

25  Herculem,  qui  totum  orbem  terrarum  pererraverat 
et  nosse  videbatur  omnes  nationes,  iubet  ire  et  ex- 
plorare,  quorum  hominum  esset.  tum  Hercules 
primo  aspectu  sane  perturbatus  est,  ut  qui  etiam 

2  [tV/wflf],  15  ne  excidant  memoriae  quae. 


I20  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

non  omnia  monstra  timuerit.  ut  vidit  novi  generis 
faciem,  insolitum  incessum,  vocem  nullius  terres- 
tris  animalis  sed  qualis  esse  marinis  beluis  solet, 
raucam  et  implicatam,  putavit  sibi  tertium  deci- 
mum  laborem  venisse.  diligentius  intuenti  visus  5 
est  quasi  homo,  accessit  itaque  et  quod  facilli- 
mum  f uit  Graeculo,  ait : 

Tt9  TToOev  eh  avBpcjv^  ttoOl  rot  ir6\i<i  rjhe  roKrje; ; 

Claudius  gaudet  esse  illic  philologos  homines,  spe- 
rat  futurum  aliquem  historiis  suis  locum,     itaque  et  10 
ipse  Ho^ierico  versu  Caesarem  se  esse  significans 
ait : 

^WtoOev  fie  (l>€pQ)v  dvefJLO<;  ULcKoveao-c  ireXaacev, 

erat  autem  sequens  versus  verior,  aeque  Homeri- 
cus :  15 

ev6a  S'  670)  irokiv  eirpaOov^  toKeaa  S'  avTOv<;, 

6  et  imposuerat  Herculi  minime  vafro,  nisi  fuisset 
illic  Febris,   quae  fano  suo  relicto  sola  cum  illo 
venerat:    ceteros  omnes  deos    Romae   reliquerat. 
*  iste '   inquit    *  mera   mendacia  narrat.       ego  tibi  20 
dico,  quae  cum  illo  tot  annis  vixi :  Luguduni  natus 
est,  Marci  municipem  vides.     quod  tibi  narro,  ad 
sextum  decimum  lapidem  natus  est  a  Vienna,  Gal-  . 
lus  Germanus.     itaque  quod  Galium  facere  oporte- 
bat,  Romam  cepit.    hunc  ego  tibi  recipio  Luguduni  25 
natum,  ubi  Licinus  multis  annis  regnavit.     tu  au- 
tem, qui  plura  loca  calcasti  quam  ullus  mulio  per- 


SENECAE  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  121 

petuarius,  Lugudunenses  scire  debes  et  multa 
milia  inter  Xanthum  et  Rhodanum  interesse."  ex- 
candescit  hoc  loco  Claudius  et  quanto  potest  mur- 
mure  irascitur.      quid  diceret,   nemo  intellegebat, 

5  ille  autem  Febrim  duci  iubebat.  illo  gestu  solutae 
manus  et  ad  hoc  unum  satis  firmae,  quo  decollare 
homines  solebat,  iusserat  illi  collum  praecidi.  pu- 
tares  omnes  illius  esse  libertos :  adeo  ilium  nemo 
curabat.     tum  Hercules  *  audi  me  '  inquit  *  tu  desine  7 

lo  fatuari.  venisti  hue,  ubi  mures  ferrum  rodunt.  ci- 
tius  mihi  verum,  ne  tibi  alogias  excutiam.'  et  quo 
terribilior  esset,  tragicus  fit  et  ait  : 

'  exprome  propere,  sede  qua  genitus  cluas, 
hoc  ne  peremptus  stipite  ad  terram  accidas ; 

15  haec  clava  reges  saepe  mactavit  feros. 

quid  nunc  profatu  vocis  incerto  sonas  ? 
quae  patria,  quae  gens  mobile  eduxit  caput  ? 
edissere.     equidem  regna  tergemini  petens 
longinqua  regis,  unde  ab  Hesperio  mari 

20  Inachiam  ad  urbem  nobile  advexi  pecus, 

vidi  duobus  imminens  fluviis  iugum, 
quod  Phoebus  ortu  semper  obverso  videt, 
ubi  Rhodanus  ingens  amne  praerapido  fluit, 
Ararque  dubitans,  quo  suos  cursus  agat, 

25  tacitus  quietis  adluit  ripas  vadis. 

estne  ilia  tellus  spiritus  altrix  tui  ? ' 

haec  satis  animose  et  f ortiter ;  nihilo  minus  mentis 
suae  non  est  et  timet  ficopov  irXrjyTJv.     Claudius  ut 

1  \^Ltigdunenses].  ^  et  omitted. 


122  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

vidit  virum  valentem,  oblitus  nugarum  intellexit 
neminem  Romae  sibi  parem  fuisse,  illic  non  habere 
se  idem  gratiae :  gallum  in  suo  sterquilino  pluri- 
mum  posse,  itaque  quantum  intellegi  potuit,  haec 
visus  est  dicere :  *  ego  te,  f  ortissime  deorum  Her-  5 
cule,  speravi  mihi  adfuturum  apud  alios,  et  si  qui  a 
me  notorem  petisset,  te  fui  nominaturus,  qui  me 
optime  nosti.  nam  si  memoria  repetis,  ego  eram 
qui  tibi  ante  templum  tuum  ius  dicebam  totis 
diebus  mense  lulio  et  Augusto.  tu  scis,  quantum  lo 
illic  miseriarum  contulerim,  cum  causidicos  audirem 
diem  et  noctem,  in  quos  si  incidisses,  valde  fortis 
licet  tibi  videaris,  maluisses  cloacas  Augeae  pur- 
gare  :  multo  plus  ego  stercoris  exhausi.  sed  quo- 
niam  volo '  15 

8  *  non  mirum  quod  in  curiam  impetum  f  ecisti :  nihil 
tibi  clausi  est.  modo  die  nobis,  qualem  deum 
istum  fieri  velis.  'EirL/covpeLo^  Oeo^  non  potest 
esse  :  ovre  avro^;  Trpdy/Jia  e^ec  rt  ovre  aWoL<;  irape-^ei ; 
Stoicus }  quomodo  potest  "  rotundus  "  esse,  ut  ait  20 
Varro,  "  sine  capite,  sine  praeputio  "  I  est  aliquid 
in  illo  Stoici  dei,  iam  video:  nee  cor  nee  caput 
habet.  si  mehercules  a  Saturno  petisset  hoc  bene- 
ficium,  cuius  mensem  toto  anno  celebravit  Satur- 
nalicius  princeps,  non  tulisset  illud,  nedum  ab  25 
love,  quem  quantum  quidem  in  illo  fuit,  damnavit 
incesti.  Silanum  enim  generum  suum  occidit 
propterea  quod  sororem  suam,  festivissimam  om- 

*  tibi,  Tiburi,        ^^  contulerim,  tulerim,        ^®  trpdytiar  l^x^i. 


SENECAE  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  1 23 

nium  puellarum,  quam  omnes  Venerem  vocarent, 
maluit  lunonem  vocare.  "quare,"  inquis — quaero 
enim  —  "  sororem  suam  ?  "  stulte,  stude  :  Athenis 
dimidium  licet,  Alexandriae  totum.  "quia  Romae  '* 
5  inquis  **  mures  molas  lingunt."  hie  nobis  curva 
corriget  ?  quid  in  cubiculo  suo  faciat,  nescit,  et  iam 
"  caeli  scrutatur  plagas/'  deus  fieri  vult :  parum  est 
quod  templum  in  Britannia  habet,  quod  hunc  barbari 
colunt  et  ut  deum  orant  fxwpov  evCkdrov  rvx^lv  ?  * 

10      tandem    lovi   venit   in   mentem,    privatis    intra  9 
curiam  morantibus    sententiam    dicere   non   licere 
nee    disputare.      *  ego  *   inquit   *  p.    c.   interrogare 
vobis  permiseram,  vos  mera  mapalia  fecistis.     volo 
ut  servetis  disciplinam  curiae,      hie  qualiscunque 

15  est,  quid  de  nobis  existimabit  ? '  illo  dimisso  primus 
interrogatur  sententiam  lanus  pater,  is  designatus 
erat  in  kal.  lulias  postmeridianus  consul,  homo 
quantumvis  vafer,  qui  semper  videt  a^ia  irpoa-aco 
Kal  oiridGin,     is  multa  diserte,  quod  in  foro  vivat, 

20  dixit,  quae  notarius  persequi  non  potuit  et  ideo  non 
refero,  ne  aliis  verbis  ponam,  quae  ab  illo  dicta 
sunt,  multa  dixit  de  magnitudine  deorum :  non 
debere  hunc  vulgo  dari  honorem.  *olim'  inquit 
*  magna  res  erat  deum  fieri :  iam  famam  mimum 

25  fecisti.  itaque  ne  videar  in  personam,  non  in  rem 
dicere  sententiam,  censeo  ne  quis  post  hunc  diem 

2  inquit^  "  quaero  enim^  sororem  suamP 

'^^  privatis  ,  .  .  morantibus  senatoribus  non   licere  sententiam 
dicere  nee,  etc. 

1^  vivat,  vivebat,  26  fecisti,  fecistis. 


124  ^-^^^  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

deus  fiat  ex  his  qui  apovprjf;  Kapirov  eSovacv  aut  ex 
his    quos    alit    ^elScopot;    apovpa,      qui   contra   hoc 
senatus  consultum  deus  factus,  dictus  pictusve  erit, 
eum  dedi  Laruis  et  proximo  munere  inter  novos 
auctoratos  ferulis  vapulare  placet/     proximus  in-   5 
terrogatur  sententiam  Diespiter  Vicae  Potae  filius, 
et   ipse   designatus    consul,    nummulariolus :    hoc 
quaestu  se  sustinebat,  vendere  civitatulas  solebat. 
ad  hunc  belle  accessit  Hercules  et  auriculam  illi 
tetigit.     censet  itaque  in  haec  verba  :  *  cum  divus  10 
Claudius  et  divum  Augustum  sanguine  contingat 
nee   minus  divam  Augustam  aviam  suam,   quam 
ipse  deam  esse  iussit,  longeque  omnes  mortales 
sapientia  antecellat,  sitque  e  re  publica  esse  ali- 
quem    qui    cum   Romulo   possit   "ferventia  rapa  15 
vorare,"  censeo  uti  divus  Claudius  ex  hac  die  deus 
sit,  ita  uti  ante  eum  quis  optimo  iure  factus  sit, 
eamque  rem  ad  Metamorphosis  Ovidi  adiciendam.' 
variae  erant  sententiae,  et  videbatur  Claudius  sen- 
tentiam vincere.     Hercules  enim,  qui  videret  fer-  20 
rum   suum   in   igne   esse,   modo   hue   modo  illuc 
cursabat  et  aiebat:    *noli  mihi  invidere,  mea  res 
agitur ;  deinde  tu  si  quid  volueris,  in  vicem  f aciam ; 
manus  manum  lavat/ 
10     tunc  divus  Augustus  surrexit  sententiae  suae  loco  25 
dicendae  et  summa  f  acundia  disseruit :  *  ego '  inquit 
*p.  c.  vos  testes  habeo,  ex  quo  deus  factus  sum, 
nullum  me  verbum  f  ecisse  :  semper  meum  negotium 

^  [aut  .  .  .  Apovpal,  i"^  quis,  ^ui, 

1^  [^sententiam]. 


SENECAE  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  1 2$ 

ago.  et  non  possum  amplius  dissimulare  et  dolo- 
rem,  quern  graviorem  pudor  facit,  continere.  in 
hoc  terra  marique  pacem  peperi?  .ideo  civilia  bella 
compescui  ?  ideo  legibis  urbem  fundavi,  operibus 

5  ornavi,  ut  —  quid  dicam  p.  c.  non  invenio :  omnia 
infra  indignationem  verba  sunt,  confugiendum  est 
itaque  ad  Messalae  Corvini,  disertissimi  viri,  illam 
sententiam  "  pudet  imperii."  hie  p.  c,  qui  vobis 
non   posse   videtur   muscam   excitare,   tarn   facile 

lo  homines  occidebat,  quam  canis  adsidit.  sed  quid 
ego  de  tot  ac  talibus  viris  dicam }  non  vacat  deflere 
publicas  clades  intuenti  domestica  mala,  itaque 
ilia  omittam,  haec  referam;  nam  etiam  si  soror 
mea  [Graece]  nescit,  ego  scio :  eyycov  yow  KvijfjLrj^;, 

15  iste  quem  videtis,  per  tot  annos  sub  meo  nomine 
latens,  banc  mihi  gratiam  rettulit,  ut  duas  lulias 
proneptes  meas  occideret,  alteram  ferro,  alteram 
fame,  unum  abnepotem  L.  Silanum.  videris  lup- 
piter  an  in  causa  mala,  certe  in  tua,  si  aecus  futu- 

20  rus  es.     die  mihi,  dive  Claudi,  quare  quemquam  ex 
his,   quos  quasque  occidisti,   antequam   de   causa 
cognosceres,  antequam  audires,  damnasti  ?  hoc  ubi 
fieri  solet  ?  in  caelo  non  fit.     ecce  luppiter,  qui  tot  11 
annos  regnat,  uni  Volcano  crus  fregit,  quem 

25  plslre  TToSo?  Teraywv  airo  ^rfkov  OeaTreaCoio, 

et  iratus  fuit  uxori  et  suspendit  illam :  numquid 
occidit.^  tu  Messalinam,  cuius  aeque  avunculus 
maior  eram  quam  tuus,  occidisti.  "  nescio  "  inquis. 

1  et,  sed. 


126  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

di  tibi  male  faciant:  adeo  istuc  turpius  est,  quod 
nescisti,  quam  quod  occidisti.  C.  Caesarem  non 
desiit  mortuum  persequi.  occiderat  ille  socerum : 
hie  et  generum.  Gaius  Crassi  filium  vetuit  Mag- 
num vocari :  hie  nomen  illi  reddidit,  caput  tulit.  5 
occidit  in  una  domo  Crassum,  Magnum,  Scriboniam, 
Tristionias,  Assarionem,  nobiles  tamen,  Crassum 
vero  tam  fatuum,  ut  etiam  regnare  posset,  hunc 
nunc  deum  facere  vultis?  videte  corpus  eius  dis 
iratis  natum.  ad  summam,  tria  verba  cito  dicat,  et  10 
servum  me  ducat,  hunc  deum  quis  colet?  quis 
credet }  dum  tales  deos  f acitis,  nemo  vos  deos  esse 
credet.  summa  rei,  p.  c,  si  honeste  me  inter  vos 
gessi,  si  nulli  clarius  respondi,  vindicate  iniurias 
meas.  ego  pro  sententia  mea  hoc  censeo : '  atque  15 
ita  ex  tabella  recitavit:  *quando  quidem  divus 
Claudius  occidit  socerum  suum  Appium  Silanum, 
generos  duos  Magnum  Pompeium  et  L.  Silanum, 
socerum  filiae  suae  Crassum  Frugi,  hominem  tam 
similem  sibi  quam  ovo  ovum,  Scriboniam  socrum  20 
filiae  suae,  uxorem  suam  Messalinam  et  ceteros 
quorum  numerus  iniri  non  potuit,  placet  mihi  in 
eum  severe  animadverti  nee  illi  rerum  iudicandarum 
vacationem  dari  eumque  quam  primum  exportari 
et  caelo  intra  triginta  dies  excedere,  Olympo  intra  25 
diem  tertium.* 

pedibus  in  banc  sententiam  itum  est.  nee  mora, 
Cyllenius  ilium  collo  obtorto  trahit  ad  inferos  [a 
caelo] 

^  \ad  inferos\  a  caelo. 


SENECAE  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  12/ 

*  unde  negant  redire  quemquam.* 

dum  descendunt  per  viam  Sacram,  interrogat  Mer- 12 
curius,  quid  sibi  velit  ille  concursus  hominum,  num 
Claudii  funus  esset  ?  et  erat  omnium  f ormosissimum 

5  et  impensa  cura,  plane  ut  scires  deum  efferri :  tubi- 
cinum,  cornicinum,  omnis  generis  aenatorum  tanta 
turba,  tantus  concentus,  ut  etiam  Claudius  audire 
posset,  omnes  laeti,  hilares :  populus  Romanus 
ambulabat  tanquam  liber.     Agatho  et  pauci  cau- 

10  sidici  plorabant,  sed  plane  ex  animo.  iurisconsulti 
e  tenebris  procedebant,  pallidi,  graciles,  vix  animam 
habentes,  tanquam  qui  tum  maxime  reviviscerent. 
ex  his  unus  cum  vidisset  capita  conferentes  et  for- 
tunas  suas  deplorantes  causidicos,  accedit  et  ait: 

15  *  dicebam  vobis :  non  semper  Saturnalia  erunt.* 
Claudius  ut  vidit  funus  suum,  intellexit  se  mor- 
tuum  esse,  ingenti  enim  /xe7a\^  'xppiK^  nenia 
cantabatur  anapaestis : 

*  fundite  fletus,  edite  planctus, 
20                 resonet  tristi  clamore  forum  : 

cecidit  pulchre  cordatus  homo, 
quo  non  alius  fuit  in  toto 
fortior  orbe. 
ille  citato  vincere  cursu 
25  poterat  celeres,  ille  rebelles 

fundere  Parthos  levibusque  sequi 
Persida  telis,  certaque  manu 
tendere  nervum,  qui  praecipites 

^  illuc  uncUy  etc. 


128  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

vulnere  parvo  figeret  hostes, 

pictaque  Medi  terga  fugacis. 

ille  Britannos  ultra  noti 

litora  ponti 

et  caeruleos  scuta  Brigantas  5 

dare  Romuleis  colla  catenis 

iussit  et  ipsum  nova  Romanae 

iura  securis  tremere  Oceanum. 

deflete  virum,  quo  non  alius 

potuit  citius  discere  causas,  lo 

una  tantum  parte  audita, 

saepe  ne  utra.     quis  nunc  iudex 

toto  lites  audiet  anno  ? 

tibi  iam  cedet  sede  relicta, 

qui  dat  populo  iura  silenti,  15 

Cretaea  tenens  oppida  centum. 

caedite  maestis  pectora  palmis, 

o  causidici,  venale  genus. 

vosque  poetae  lugete  novi, 

vosque  in  primis  qui  concusso  20 

magna  parastis  lucra  fritillo.' 

13  delectabatur  laudibus  suis  Claudius  et  cupiebat 
diutius  spectare.  inicit  illi  manum  Talthybius 
deorum  et  trahit  capite  obvoluto,  ne  quis  eum 
possit  agnoscere,  per  campum  Martium,  et  inter  25 
Tiberim  et  viam  Tectam  descendit  ad  inferos,  ante- 
cesserat  iam  compendiaria  Narcissus  libertus  ad 
patronum  excipiendum  et  venienti  nitidus,  ut  erat 

28  Talthybius  deorum  \nuntiu5\ 


SENECAE  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  1 29 

a  balineo,  occurrit  et  ait :  *  quid  di  ad  homines  ? ' 
*  celerius '  inquit  Mercurius  '  et  venire  nos  nuntia.* 
dicto  citius  Narcissus  evolat.  omnia  proclivia 
sunt,  facile  descenditur.  itaque  quamvis  podagri- 
5  cus  esset,  momento  temporis  pervenit  ad  ianuam 
Ditis,  ubi  iacebat  Cerberus  vel  ut  ait  Horatius 
*belua  centiceps.*  pusillum  perturbatur  —  subal- 
bam  canem  in  deliciis  habere  adsueverat  —  ut 
ilium   vidit    canem    nigrum,    villosum,    sane    non 

10  quem  velis  tibi  in  tenebris  occurrere.  et  magna 
voce  'Claudius'  inquit  *veniet.'  cum  plausu  pro- 
cedunt  cantantes :  evprJKafiev^  (rvy')(^aLpcofjL€v,  hie 
erat  C.  Silius  consul  designatus,  luncus  praetorius. 
Sex.  Traulus,  M.  Helvius,  Trogus,  Cotta,  Vettius 

15  Valens,  Fabius  equites  R.  quos  Narcissus  duci 
iusserat.  medius  erat  in  hac  cantantium  turba 
Mnester  pantomimus,  quem  Claudius  decoris  causa 
minorem  fecerat.  ad  Messalinam  —  cito  rumor 
percrebuit   Claudium   venisse  —  convolant:    primi 

20  omnium  liberti  Polybius,  Myron,  Harpocras,  Am- 
phaeus,  Pheronactus,  quos  Claudius  omnes,  necubi 
imparatus  esset,  praemiserat.  deinde  praefecti  duo 
Justus  Catonius  et  Rufrius  PoUio.  deinde  amici 
Saturninus  Lusius  et  Pedo  Pompeius  et  Lupus  et 

25  Celer  Asinius  consulares.  novissime  fratris  filia, 
sororis  filia,  generi,  soceri,  socrus,  omnes  plane  con- 
sanguine!, et  agmine  facto  Claudio  occurrunt. 
quos  cum  vidisset  Claudius,  exclamat :  iravra  (f>C- 
\(ov  ir\r)pr],    *  quomodo    hue   venistis   vos } '     tum 

K 


I30  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

Pedo  Pompeius :  '  quid  dicis,  homo  crudelissime  ? 
quaeris  quomodo  ?  quis  enim  nos  alius  hue  misit 
quam  tu,  omnium  amicorum  interfector?  in  ius 
eamus  :  ego  tibi  hie  sellas  ostendam/ 

ducit  ilium  ad  tribunal  Aeaei :  is  lege  Cornelia   5 
quae  de  sicariis  lata  est,  quaerebat.     postulat,  no- 
men  eius  recipiat ;    edit  subscriptionem :    occisos 
senatores  XXXV,  equites  R.  CCXXI,  ceteros  ocra 
-^dfiaOo^;  re  k6vl<;  re.    advocatum  non  invenit.    tan- 
dem procedit  P.   Petronius,  vetus  convictor  eius,  10 
homo  Claudiana  lingua  disertus,  et  postulat  advo- 
cationem.     non   datur.      accusat   Pedo    Pompeius 
magnis  clamoribus.     incipit  patronus  velle  respon- 
dere.     Aeacus,    homo   iustissimus,   vetat  et  ilium 
altera  tantum  parte  audita  condemnat  et  ait :  a?/c€  15 
TrdOoL  rd  t  epe^e,  Blkt)  k   iOela  jevotro,     ingens  si- 
lentium  factum  est.     stupebant  omnes  novitate  rei 
attoniti,  negabant  hoc  unquam  factum.     Claudio 
magis  iniquum  videbatur  quam  novum,    de  genere 
poenae  diu  disputatum  est,  quid  ilium  pati  oporte-  20 
ret.      erant   qui   dicerent,  si  nimium  diu  laturam 
fecissent.  Tantalum  siti  periturum  nisi  illi  succurre- 
retur ;  aHquando  Ixionis  miseri  rotam  sufflaminan- 
dam.    non  placuit  ulli  ex  veteribus  missionem  dari, 
ne  vel  Claudius  unquam  simile  speraret.     placuit  25 
novam  poenam  constitui  debere,  excogitandum  illi 
laborem  irritum  et  alicuius  cupiditatis  spem  sine 

21  si  nimium  diu  laturam  fecissent,  Sisyphum  satis  diu  laturam 
fecisse. 

'^  veteribus,  veteranis,  27  spem,  speciem. 


SENECAE  APOCOLOCYNTOSIS  131 

fine  et  eff  ectu.  turn  Aeacus  iubet  ilium  alea  ludere 
pertuso  fritillo.  et  iam  coeperat  fugientes  semper 
tesseras  quaerere  et  nihil  proficere  : 

nam  quotiens  missurus  erat  resonante  fritillo, 
5        utraque  subducto  fugiebat  tessera  fundo. 
cumque  recollectos  auderet  mittere  talos, 
lusuro  similis  semper  semperque  petenti, 
decepere  fidem  :  refugit  digitosque  per  ipsos 
fallax  adsiduo  dilabitur  alea  furto. 
10        sic  cum  iam  sum  mi  tanguntur  culmina  mentis, 
irrita  Sisyphio  volvuntur  pondera  collo. 

apparuit  subito  C.  Caesar  et  petere  ilium  in  servitu- 
tem  coepit ;  producit  testes,  qui  ilium  viderant  ab 
ipso  flagris,  ferulis,  colaphis  vapulantem.  adiudi- 
15  catur  C.  Caesari ;  Caesar  ilium  Aeaco  donat.  is 
Menandro  liberto  suo  tradidit,  ut  a  cognitionibus 
esset. 

1  sine  fine  et  effect  u,  sine  eff  ectu,  '  lusuro,  fmuro. 

18  \J,llum\,  1*  ipso,  illo. 


SENECA'S   ^^APOCOLOCYNTOSIS" 

1      I  wish  to  record  an  occurrence  which  took  place 
in  heaven  on  the  third  day  before  the  Ides  of  Octo- 
ber, in  the  new  year  which  began  our  fortunate 
era.     I  am  not  going  to  be  diverted  by  either  fear 
or  favor.     I  shall  tell  the  unvarnished  truth.     If 
anybody  asks  me  where  I  got  my  information,  I 
say  at  once,  I'll  not  answer  if   I  don't  want  to.  / 
Who  is  going  to  make  me  .'*     I  know  I  have  been  ^ 
free  to  do  as  I  like  since  the  day  when  he  died  who 
had  made  the  proverb  true:!  One  must  be  borny 
either  king  or  fool.     If  I  please  to  answer,  I  shall 
say  what   comes   to   my  tongue.     Who   ever  de- 
manded affidavits  from  an  historian  ?     Still,  if  I 
must  produce  my  authority,  apply  to  the  man  who 
saw  Drusilla  going  heavenward;    he  will  say  he 
saw  Claudius  limping  along  in  the  same  direction. 
Willy-nilly,  he  hjLSjto„s^everything  that  happens^ 
in  heaven ;    for  he  is  the  superintendent  of  the 
Appian  road,  by  which  you  know  both  the  divine 
Augustus  and  Tiberius   Caesar  went  to  join  the 
gods.     If  you  ask  this  man  he  will  tell  you  pri- 
vately ;  in  presence  of  more  than  one  he'll  never^ 
speak  a  word.     For  since  the  day  when  he  took 
oath  in  the  Senate  that  he  had  seen  Drusilla  going 

132 


TRANSLATION  1 33 

up  to  heaven  and  in  return  for  such  good  news  no- 
body believed  him,  he  has  declared  in  so  many- 
words  that  he'll  not  testify  about  anything,  not 
even  if  he  should  see  a  man  murdered  in  the 
middle  of  the  Forum.  What  I  have  heard  from 
him,  then,  I  state  positively  and  plainly,  so  help 
him ! 

Now  was  come  the  season  when  Phoebus  had  nar-  2 

rowed  the  daylight, 
Shortening   his  journey,  while  sleep's  dim  hours 

were  left  to  grow  longer ; 
Now  victorious  Cynthia  was  widening  the  bounds 

of  her  kingdom ; 
Ugly-faced  Winter  was  snatching  away  the  rich 

glories  of  Autumn, 
So  that  the  tardy  vintager,  seeing  that  Bacchus 

was  aging. 
Hastily,  here  and  there,  was  plucking  the  clusters 

forgotten. 

I  presume  I  shall  be  better  understood  if  I  say 
that  the  month  was  October  and  the  day  October 
thirteenth ;  the  exact  hour  I  cannot  tell  you  —  it's 
easier  to  get  philosophers  to  agree  than  timepieces 
—  but  it  was  between  noon  and  one  o'clock. 

**  Too  clumsily  put !  "  you  will  say.  "  All  the 
poets  are  unsatisfied  to  describe  sunrises  and  sun- 
sets, so  that  they  are  even  tackling  the  middle  of 
the  day:  are  you  going  to  neglect  so  good  an 
hour?" 


134  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

Phoebus  already  had  passed  the  highest  point  of 
his  circuit, 

Wearily  shaking  the  reins  as  his  car  drew  nearer 
the  evening, 

Leading  away  the  half-spent  light  on  its  down-dip- 
ping pathway. 

3  Claudius  began  to  give  up  the  ghost,  but  couldn't 
find  a  way  out  for  it.  Then  Mercury,  who  had  al- 
ways had  a  fancy  for  his  character,  led  aside  one  of 
the  three  Fates  and  said :  **  Why,  O  hard-hearted 
woman,  do  you  let  the  wretched  man  be  tormented  t 
Isn't  he  ever  to  have  a  rest,  after  being  tortured  so 
long }  It  is  the  sixty-fourth  year  that  he  has  been 
V  a,fflict_e_d  with  life.  What  grudge  have  you  got 
against  him  and  the  nation }  For  once  let  the 
prophets  tell  the  truth,  who  have  been  taking  him 
off  every  year,  every  month  even,  since  he  was 
made  emperor.  And  still  it's  no  wonder  if  they  go 
wrong  and  nobody  knows  his  hour;  for  nobody 
ever  made  any  account  of  his  being  born.  Do 
what  is  necessary: 

*  Give  him  over  to  death :  let  a  better  man  reign 
in  his  palace.'  " 

But  Clotho  remarked,  "  I  swear  I  intended  to  give 
him  a  trifle  more  time,  till  he  should  make  citizens 
v^out  of  the  few  that  are  left  outside  —  for  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  see  everybody,  Greeks,  Gauls, 
Spaniards,  Britons,  wearing  togas.  However,  since 
it  is  perhaps  a  good  thing  to  have  a  few  foreigners 


T RAN  SLA  TION  1 3  5 

left  as  a  nucleus,  and  since  you  wish  it,  it  shall  be 
attended  to.**  Then  she  opened  a  bandbox  and 
brought  out  three  spindles ;  one  was  that  of  Augu- 
rinus,  the  next  was  Baba's,  the  third  Claudius*. 
**  I  will  have  these  three  die  at  short  intervals 
within  a  year,'*  she  said,  "and  not  send  him  off 
unattended.  For  it  isn't  right  that  one  who  has'^ 
been  in  the  habit  of  seeing  so  many  thousands  of 
people  following  him  about,  going  ahead  of  him, 
and  all  around  him,  should  all  of  a  sudden  be  left 
alone.  For  a  while  he  will  be  satisfied  with  these 
boon-companions.** 

Thus  having  spoken  she  wound  up  the  thread  on  4 

his  spindle  neglected. 
Breaking  off  the  royal  days  of  his  stupid  existence,  v' 
Lachesis,  waiting  meanwhile,  with  tresses  charm- 
ingly ordered. 
Crowning  the  locks  on  her  brow  with  a  wreath  of 

Pierian  laurel, 
Drew  from  a  snowy  fleece  white  strands  which, 

cleverly  fashioned, 
Under  her  artful  fingers  began  with  new  colors  to 

gHsten :  — 
Spun  to  a  thread  that  drew  the  admiring  gaze  of 

her  sisters. 
Changed  was  the  common  wool,  until  as  a  metal 

most  precious. 
Golden  the  age  that  was  winding  down  in  that 

beautiful  fillet. 


136  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

r 

Ceaselessly  they  too   labored;   and  bringing  the 

finest  of  fleeces, 
Gayly  they  filled  her  hands,  for  sweet  was  the  duty 

allotted. 
She,  in  her  eagerness,  hastened  the  work,  nor  was 

conscious  of  effort ; 
Lightly  the  soft  strands  fell  from  the  whirling  point 

of  her  spindle, 
Passing  the  life  of  Tithonus,  passing  the  lifetime 

of  Nestor. 
Phoebus   came  with   his   singing,  and,  happy  in 

anticipation. 
Joyously  plied  the  plectrum,  or  aided  the  work  of 

the  spinners : 
Kept  their  hearts  intent,  with  his  song  beguiling 

their  labor. 
While    beyond    thought    they    rejoiced    in    their 

brother's  music,  their  hands  spun. 
Busily  twining  a  destiny  passing  all  human  allot- 
ment. 
Wrought  through  the  spell  of  Phoebus*  lyre  and 

his  praise,  as  he  bade  them : 
"  Stay  not  your  hands,  O  Fateful  Sisters,  but  make 

him  a  victor 
Over  the  barriers  that  limit  the  common  lifetime  of 

mortals ; 
Let  him  be  blessed  with  a  grace  and  a  beauty  like 

mine,  and  in  music 
Grant  him  no  meaner  gifts.     An  age  of  joy  shall 

he  bring  men 


T RAN  SLA  TION  1 3  7 

Weary  for  laws   that  await   his  restoring.     Like 

Lucifer  comes  he, 
Putting  the  scattered  stars  to  flight,  or  Hke  Hesper 

at  nightfall. 
Rising  when  stars  return ;  or  e*en  as  the  Sun,  — 

when  Aurora 
First  has  dispelled  the  dark  and  blushingly  led 

forth  the  morning,  — 
Brightly   gleams   on   the   world    and   renews   his 

chariot's  journey. 
So  Cometh  Caesar ;  so  in  his  glory  shall  Rome  be- 
hold Nero. 
Thus  do  his  radiant  features  gleam  with  a  gentle 

effulgence. 
Graced  by  the  flowing  locks  that  fall  encircling  his 

shoulders." 

Thus  Apollo.  But  Lachesis,  who  herself,  too, 
had  a  fondness  for  the  handsomest  of  men,  wrought 
with  generous  hand,  and  bestowed  upon  Nero 
many  years  from  her  own  store.  As  for  Claudius, 
however,  everybody  gave  orders 

With  joy  and  great  content  to  send  him  out  of  doors} 

And  indeed  he  did  go  up  the  flume,  and  from 
that  moment  ceased  to  appear  to  be  alive.  He 
expired,  moreover,  while  listening  to  comic  actors ; 
so  you  understand  it  isn't  without  reason  that  I  am 

1  Greek  quotations  in  the  original  are  in  the  translation  indi- 
cated by  italics. 


138  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

afraid  of  those  fellows.  His  last  words  that  were 
heard  among  men  were  these,  after  a  louder  utter- 
ance in  the  locality  where  he  expressed  himself  the 
more  easily :  **  Oh,  dear !  I  think  I  have  hurt  my- 
self/' Whether  he  had,  I  don't  know;  at  any  rate 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  hurting  everything. 

5  What  happened  afterward  on  earth  it  is  super- 
fluous to  describe.  For  you  know  very  well,  and 
there  is  no  danger  that  things  which  the  universal 
joy  has  impressed  upon  the  memory  will  slip  from 
it ;  no  one  forgets  his  own  good  fortune.  Listen 
to  what  happened  in  heaven  :  it  is  on  the  authority 
of  the  narrator.  The  news  was  brought  to  Jupiter 
that  somebody  had  come,  a  rather  tall  man,  quite 
gray-headed ;  that  he  was  threatening  something 
or  other,  for  he  kept  shaking  his  head;  and  that 
he  limped  with  his  right  foot.  The  messenger  said 
he  had  asked  of  what  nation  he  was,  but  his  answer 
was  mumbled  in  some  kind  of  an  incoherent  noise ; 
he  didn't  recognize  the  man's  language,  but  he 
wasn't  either  Greek  or  Roman  or  of  any  known 
race.  Then  Jupiter  told  Hercules,  who  had  trav- 
elled all  over  the  world  and  was  supposed  to  be 
acquainted  with  all  the  nations,  to  go  and  find  out 
what  sort  of  a  man  it  was.  Hercules  at  the  first 
sight  was  a  good  deal  disturbed,  even  though  he  was 
one  who  didn't  fear  any  sort  of  monsters.  When  he 
beheld  the  aspect  of  this  unknown  specimen,  its 

.  extraordinary  gait,  its  voice  belonging  to  no  earthly 
creature  but  more  like  that  of  the  monsters  of  the 


TRANSLA  TION  1 39 

deep,  hoarse  and  inarticulate,  he  thought  that  a 
thirteenth  labor  had  come  to  him.  When  he  looked 
more  carefully,  however,  it  appeared  to  be  a  man. 
He  approached  him  and  thus  spoke,  as  was  easiest 
for  a  Greek  chap : 

Who  and  whence  art  thoUy  and  where  are  thy  city 
and  parents  ? 

\  Claudius  was  delighted  to  find  literary  people  there, 
hoping  there  would  be  some  place  for  his  histories,  c 
So  he,  too,  in  a  Homeric  verse,  indicating  himself  ^ 
to  be  Caesar,  said : 

Hence  from  Ilium  the  winds  have  among  the  Cicones 
cast  me. 

But  the  following  verse  would  have  been  truer,  and 
equally  Homeric : 

There  their  city  I  wasted ;  the  people  I  slaughtered,   ^ 

And  he  would  have  imposed  upon  the  guileless  6 
Hercules,  had  not  Fever  been  there,  who  alone 
had  left  her  shrine  and  come  with  him.  All  the 
other  divinities  he  had  left  behind  at  Rome.  She 
said,  "  It  is  simple  nonsense  that  he  is  giving 
you.  I  tell  you  —  I  who  have  lived  with  him  for 
so  many  years  —  he  was  born  at  Lugudunum  ;  you  ^. 
behold  one  of  Marcus*  citizens.  As  I'm  telling  you, 
he  was  born  sixteen  miles  from  Vienna,  a  genuine 
Gaul.  And  so  as  a  Gaul  ought  to  do,  he  captured 
Rome.     Take  my  word  for  it,  he  was  born  at  Lugu- 


140  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

dunum,  where  Licinus  reigned  for  many  years. 
But  you,  who  have  tramped  more  lands  than  any 
wandering  muleteer,  ought  to  know  men  from 
Lugudunum  and  that  there  are  a  good  many  miles 
between  the  Xanthus  and  the  Rhone."  At  this 
point  Claudius  fired  up  and  angrily  grumbled  as 
loudly  as  he  could.  What  he  was  saying,  nobody 
understood,  except  that  he  commanded  Fever  to 
be  led  away  to  punishment.  With  the  familiar 
gesture  of  his  limp  hand,  that  was  steady  enough 

^  f or  the  one  purpose  of  decapitating  people  as  he 
was  accustomed,  he  had  ordered  her  head  to  be 
struck  off.     You  would  suppose  all  those  present 

^  were  his  freedmen,  so  little  attention  did  any  one 
7  pay  him.  Then  Hercules  said,  "  Listen  to  me 
and  stop  talking  nonsense.  You  have  come  to  a 
place  where  the  mice  gnaw  iron.  Tell  me  the 
truth,  quick,  or  I'll  knock  the  silliness  out  of  you." 
And  in  order  to  be  more  terrifying,  he  struck  the 
attitude  of  a  tragedian  and  said : 

"  Declare  at  once  the  place  you  call  your  natal 

town, 
Or  else,  by  this  tough  cudgel  smitten,  down  you  go! 
This  club  has  slaughtered  many  a  mighty  potentate. 
What's  that,  that  in  a  muffled  voice  you're  trying 

to  say } 
Where  is  the  land  or  race  to  own  your  shaky  head  } 
Speak  out.     Oh,  I  remember  when  afar  I  sought 
The  triple-bodied  king's  domains,  whose  famous  herd 


TRANSLATION  I4I 

From    the  western   sea   I   drove   to   the   city   of 

Inachus, 
I  saw  a  hill  above  two  rivers,  towering  high 
In  face  of  Phoebus  rising  each  day  opposite, 
Where  the  broad  Rhone  pours  by  in  swiftly  moving 

flood, 
And  Arar,  pausing  ere  it  lets  its  waters  go, 
Silently  laves  the  borders  of  its  quiet  pools. 
Is  that  the  land  that  nursed  you  when  you  first  drew 

breath  ? " 

These  things  he  said  with  spirit,  and  boldly 
enough.  All  the  same,  he  was  inwardly  a  good 
deal  afraid  of  the  7nadrnan's  blow.  Claudius,  see- 
ing the  mighty  hero,  forgot  his  nonsense  and  per- 
ceived that  while  no  one  had  been  a  match  for  him 
at  Rome,  here  he  didn't  have  the  same  advantage ; 
a  cock  is  master  only  on  his  own  dunghill.  So,  as 
well  as  could  be  made  out,  this  is  what  he  appeared 
to  say  :  "  I  did  hope  that  you,  Hercules,  bravest 
of  the  gods,  would  stand  by  me  before  the  others, 
and  if  any  one  had  asked  me  who  could  vouch  for 
me,  I  should  have  named  you,  who  know  me  best. 
For  if  you  recall,  I  was  the  one  who  held  court 
before  your  temple  all  day  long  during  the  months  v 
of  July  and  August.  You  know  how  many  troubles 
I  had  there,  Hstening  to  the  lawyers  day  and  night ; .  ^ 
and  if  you  had  fallen  among  those  fellows,  though 
you  may  think  that  you  are  pretty  courageous,  you 
would   have  preferred   to  clean  Augeas*  stables. 


142  THE   SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

I  have  cleaned  out  much  more  filth.     But  since  I 
want^'i  — 

8  "  It's  no  wonder  you  have  made  an  assault  upon 
the  senate-house ;  nothing  is  closed  to  you.  Only 
tell  us  what  sort  of  a  god  you  want  him  to  be  made. 
He  cannot  be  an  Epicurean  god,  neither  having 
himself  any  care  nor  causing  any  to  others,  A 
Stoic  .'^  How  can  he  be  *  round,'  as  Varro  says, 
*  without  head  or  prepuce '  t  Yet  there  is  some- 
thing in  him  of  the  Stoic  god,  now  I  see.     He  has 

'  ^neither  heart  nor  head.  By  Hercules,  though,  if 
he  had  asked  this  favor  of  Saturn,  whose  festival 
month  the  Saturnalian  prince  kept  going  the  whole 
year  long,  he  wouldn't  have  got  it;  and  surely 
he  wouldn't  of  Jove,  whom  so  far  as  he  possibly 

V/ could  he  convicted  of  incest.  For  he  put  to  death 
Silanus  his  son-in-law,  just  because  the  man  pre- 
ferred that  his  sister,  prettiest  of  all  the  girls,  so 
that  everybody  called  her  Venus,  should  be  called 
his  Juno.  *  Why  his  sister  } '  you  say,  —  in  fact,  I 
ask  it.  Think,  you  blockhead.  At  Athens  that 
sort  of  thing  is  halfway  allowed ;  at  Alexandria 
altogether.  *  But  since  at  Rome,'  you  say,  *the 
mice  live  on  dainties.'  He's  going  to  straighten 
our  crooked  ways  !  He  doesn't  know  what  goes 
tr  on  in  his  own  chamber,  and  now  *  he  searches  the 
regions  of  heaven.'     He  wants  to  become  a  god. 

1  On  the  break  at  this  point,  see  the  notes,  and  introduction, 
P-53. 


TRANSLA  TION  1 43 

Isn't  he  satisfied  that  he  has  a  temple  in  Britain ;  ^ 
that  the  barbarians  worship  him  and  beseech  him 
as  a  god  that  they  may  find  him  a  merciful  mad- 
man ?  " 

At  length  it  occurred  to  Jove  that  while  ordinary  9 
persons  are  staying  in  the  senate-house  it  is  not  T 
permitted  to  express  an  opinion  nor  to  argue.     "  I     * 
had  allowed  you  to  ask  questions,  Conscript  Fa- 
thers," he  said,  "but  you  have  brought  out  simply 
rubbish.     I  want  you  to  observe  the  rules  of  the 
Senate.     What  will   this   person,  whoever  he  is, 
think  of  us?'* 

When  the  said  individual  had  been  sent  out. 
Father  Janus  was  the  first  to  be  asked  his  opinion.^ 
He  had  been  elected  afternoon  consul  for  the  first 
of  July,  being  a  very  shrewd  man,  who  always  sees 
at  07ice  both  forward  and  backward.  He  spoke  at 
some  length,  and  fluently,  because  he  lives  in  the 
Forum ;  but  the  stenographer  could  not  follow,  and 
therefore  I  do  not  report  him,  for  fear  of  misquot- 
ing what  he  said.  He  said  a  good  deal  about  the 
importance  of  the  gods,  and  that  this  honor  ought 
not  to  be  given  commonly.  "Once,"  said  he,  "it 
was  a  great  thing  to  be  made  a  god,  but  now  you  .*  y 
have  made  the  distinction  a  farce.  And  so  lest  my 
remarks  seem  to  be  dealing  with  personalities 
rather  than  with  the  case,  I  move  that  from  this 
day  forward  no  one  shall  be  made  a  god,  from 
among  all  those  who  eat  the  fniit  of  the  corn-landy 
or  those  whom  the  fruitful  corn-land  feeds.     Who- 


/ 


144  ^-^-^   SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

ever  contrary  to  this  decree  of  the  Senate  shall  be 
made,  called,  or  depicted  as  god,  is  to  be  given  to 
the  hobgoblins,  and  to  get  a  thrashing  among  the 
newly  hired  gladiators  at  the  next  show." 

The  next  to  be  asked  his  opinion  was  Diespiter 
the  son  of  Vica  Pota,  who  was  himself  also  a  con- 
sul elect,  and  a  money-changer;  by  this  business 
he  supported  himself,  and  he  was  accustomed  to 
sell  citizenships  in  a  small  way.  Hercules  ap- 
proached him  politely  and  gave  him  an  admonitory 
touch  on  the  ear.  Accordingly  he  expressed  his 
opinion  in  these  words :  "  Whereas  the  divine 
Claudius  is  by  blood  related  to  the  divine  Augus- 
tus and  no  less  also  to  the  divine  Augusta,  his 
grandmother,  who  was  made  a  goddess  by  his  own 
orders,  and  whereas  he  far  surpasses  all  mortals  in 
wisdom,  and  it  is  for  the  public  interest  that  there 
be  some  one  who  can  join  Romulus  in  *  eating  of 
boiling-hot  turnips,'  I  move  that  from  this  day  the 
divine  Claudius  be  a  god,  with  title  equally  as  good 
as  that  of  any  one  who  has  been  made  so  before 
him,  and  that  this  event  be  added  to  the  Metamor- 
phoses of  Ovid." 

The  opinions  were  various,  and  Claudius  seemed 
to  be  winning  the  vote.  For  Hercules,  who  saw 
that  his  iron  was  in  the  fire,  kept  running  to  this 
one  and  that  one,  saying,  "  Don't  go  back  on  me ; 
this  IS  my  personal  affair.  And  then  if  you  want 
anything,  I'll  do  it  in  my  turn.  One  hand  washes 
the  other." 


TRANSLA  TION  1 45 

Then  the  divine  Augustus  arose  at  the  point  for  10 
expressing  his  opinion,  and  discoursed  with  the 
utmost  eloquence.  "  I  call  you  to  witness,  Con- 
script Fathers,"  said  he,  **  that  since  I  was  made  a 
god,  I  have  never  addressed  you ;  I  always  mind 
my  own  business.  And  I  can  no  longer  disguise 
my  feelings  nor  conceal  the  distress  that  shame 
makes  all  the  greater.  Was  it  for  this  that  I 
secured  peace  on  land  and  sea.'*  For  this  did  I 
make  an  end  of  civil  wars  t  For  this  did  I  found 
the  city  on  a  basis  of  law,  adorn  it  with  monu- 
ments, that  —  what  to  say.  Conscript  Fathers,  I 
cannot  discover.  All  words  are  beneath  my  in- 
dignation. So  in  desperation  I  must  take  to  the 
phrase  of  that  most  clever  man,  Messala  Corvinus, 
*  I  am  ashamed  of  my  authority.'  This  fellow.  Con- 
script Fathers,  who  doesn't  seem  to  you  as  if  he 
could  disturb  a  fly,  used  to  kill  people  as  easily  as 
a  dog  stops  to  rest.  But  why  should  I  enumerate 
the  many  great  men  }  I  have  no  heart  to  lament 
public  calamities  when  I  behold  those  of  my  own 
family.  And  so  I  will  pass  over  the  former  and 
describe  these.  For  I  know,  even  if  my  sister 
doesn't  know  [as  they  say  in  Greek],  my  knee  is 
nearer  than  my  sJiin,  That  fellow  whom  you  see 
there,  hiding  under  my  name  for  so  many  years, 
has  shown  his  gratitude  to  me  by  slaying  the  two 
Julias,  my  great-granddaughters,  one  by  the  sword, 
the  other  by  starvation,  and  L.  Silanus,  one  of  my 
great-great-grandsons.      We    shall     see,    Jupiter, 


146  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

whether  in  a  bad  case,  and  one  which  is  certainly 
your  own,  you  are  going  to  be  just.  Tell  me, 
divine  Claudius,  why  you  condemned  any  one  of 
the  men  and  women  whom  you  put  to  death  before 
^/  you  understood  their  cases,  or  even  listened  to 
them.  Where  is  this  kind  of  thing  customary  ? 
11  It's  not  the  way  in  heaven.  Here  is  Jupiter,  now, 
who  has  been  ruling  for  so  many  years.  One  per- 
son's leg  he  has  broken,  Vulcan's,  whom 

Snatching  him  by  the  foot,  he  hurled  from  the  heav- 
enly threshold  ; 

and  he  got  angry  at  his  wife  and  hung  her  up,  but 
he  didn't  kill  her,  did  he.'*  But  you  have  put  to 
death  Messalina,  to  whom  I  was  as  much  a  great- 
uncle  as  I  was  to  you.  *  I  don't  know,'  you  say  ? 
May  the  gods  be  hard  on  you !  It  is  more  shame- 
ful that  you  didn't  know  it  than  that  you  killed  her. 
He  has  never  ceased  to  follow  up  the  dead-and- 
V  gone  C.  Caesar.  The  latter  had  killed  his  father- 
in-law;  Claudius  here,  his  son-in-law  besides. 
Gains  forbade  the  son  of  Crassus  to  be  called  Mag- 
nus ;  this  man  returned  him  the  name,  but  took  off 
his  head.  He  killed  in  one  household  Crassus, 
Magnus,  Scribonia,  the  Tristionias,  and  Assario ; 
and  they  were  aristocrats  too,  and  Crassus  besides 
so  stupid  that  he  was  even  qualified  to  reign. 
Now  do  you  want  to  make  this  man  a  god  }  Look 
at  his  body,  born  when  the  gods  were  angry.  And 
finally,  if  he  can  say  three  consecutive  words  to- 


TRANSLATION  I47 

gether,  he  can  have  me  as  his  slave.  Who  will 
worship  this  god  ?  Who  will  believe  in  him  ?  As 
long  as  you  make  such  gods  as  he,  nobody  will  be- 
lieve you  are  gods  yourselves.  In  short,  Conscript 
Fathers,  if  I  have  behaved  myself  honorably  among 
you,  if  I  have  not  answered  anybody  in  an  ungen- 
tlemanly  manner,  avenge  my  injuries.  This  is  the 
resolution  which  I  have  to  offer ;  "  and  he  read 
as  follows  from  his  tablet :  "  Since  the  divine  Clau- 
dius has  killed  his  father-in-law  Appius  Silanus, 
his  two  sons-in-law  Magnus  Pompeius  and  L.  Sila- 
nus, his  daughter's  father-in-law  Crassus  Frugi,  a 
man  as  like  himself  as  one  ^gg  is  to  another,  Scri- 
bonia  his  daughter's  mother-in-law,  his  wife  Messa- 
lina,  and  others  too  numerous  to  mention,  I  propose 
that  strict  punishment  be  meted  out  to  him,  that 
he  be  granted  no  rest  from  adjudicating  cases,  and 
that  he  be  got  out  of  the  way  as  soon  as  possible, 
departing  from  heaven  within  thirty  days  and  from 
Olympus  within  three.'* 

There  was  a  division  of  the  house,  and  this  reso-  ^ 
lution  was  carried.     Without  delay  the  Cyllenian 
dragged  him  by  the  nape  of  his  neck  off  from 
heaven  toward  the  lower  regions, 

"  Whence  they  say  no  man  returns." 

While  they  were  going   down  the  Via   Sacra,  12 
Mercury  inquired  what  such  a  crowd  of  people 
could   mean :   whether   it  was    Claudius'   funeral. 
And  indeed  it  was  a  most  elegant  and  elaborate 


sJ 


148  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA 

display,  so  that  you  would  easily  recognize  that  a 
god  was  being  carried  off  to  burial.  There  was  so 
great  a  crowd  of  trumpeters,  hornblowers,  and  play- 
ers upon  every  kind  of  brass  instruments,  so  great 
a  concord,  that  even  Claudius  could  hear  it.  Every- 
body was  joyful  and  in  high  spirits.  The  Roman  \ 
people  walked  about  like  free  men.  Only  Agatho 
and  a  few  pettifoggers  were  weeping,  but  their 
grief  was  plainly  heartfelt.  The  real  lawyers 
were  coming  out  of  their  hiding-places,  pale  and  v 
thin,  scarcely  drawing  breath,  like  people  who  were 
just  coming  to  life  again.  One  of  them,  when  he 
had  seen  the  pettifoggers  getting  their  heads  to- 
gether and  lamenting  their  calamity,  came  up  and 
said,  "  I  told  you  the  Saturnalia  wouldn't  last  for-  ; 
ever."  Claudius,  when  he  saw  his  own  funeral, 
understood  that  he  was  dead.  For  in  a  mighty  great 
chorus  they  were  chanting  a  dirge  in  anapests  : 

"  Pour  forth  your  tears,  lift  up  wof ul  voices ; 

Let  the  Forum  echo  with  sorrowful  cries. 

Nobly  has  fallen  a  man  most  sagacious. 

Than  whom  no  other  ever  was  braver, 

Not  in  the  whole  world. 

He  in  the  quick-sped  race  could  be  victor 

Over  the  swiftest ;  he  could  rebellious 

Parthians  scatter,  chase  with  his  flying 

Missiles  the  Persian,  steadiest-handed, 

Bend  back  the  bow  which,  driving  the  foeman 

Headlong  in  flight,  should  pierce  him  afar,  while 


TRANSLA  TION  1 49 

Gay-coated  Medes  turned  their  backs  to  disaster. 
Conqueror  he  of  Britons  beyond  the 
Shores  of  the  known  sea : 
Even  the  dark-blue-shielded  Brigantes 
Forced  he  to  bend  their  necks  to  the  fetters 
That  Romulus  forged,  and  Ocean  himself 
To  tremble  before  the  Roman  dominion. 
Mourn  for  the  man  than  whom  no  one  more  quickly 
Was  able  to  see  the  right  in  a  lawsuit, 
Only  at  hearing  one  side  of  the  quarrel,  — 
MDften  not  either.     Where  is  the  judge  now 
Willing  to  listen  to  cases  the  year  through } 
Thou  shalt  be  given  the  office  resigned  thee 
By  him  who  presides  in  the  court  of  the  shades, 
The  lord  of  a  hundred  cities  Cretaean. 
Smite  on  your  breasts,  ye  shysters  forsaken, 
With  hands  of  despair,  O  bribe-taking  crew ; 
Ye  too,  half -fledged  poets,  now  should  bewail ; 
And  ye  above  all,  who  lately  were  able 
VTo  gather  great  gains  by  shaking  the  dice-box.'* 

Claudius  was  delighted  with  his  praises,  and  de- 13 
sired  to  stay  longer  to  look  on.  But  the  Talthy- 
bius  of  the  gods  laid  a  hand  on  him  and  pulled  him 
away,  with  his  head  covered  so  that  nobody  could 
recognize  him,  across  the  Campus  Martins,  and 
between  the  Tiber  and  the  Arcade  went  down 
to  the  lower  world.  The  freedman  ^gxcissu^  had 
already  gone  ahead  by  a  short  cut  to  be  ready  to 
receive  his  patron,  and  as  the  latter  was  approach- 


I50  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

ing  he  ran  up,  all  sleek  from  the  bath,  and  said : 
"  What's  this  ?  Gods,  among  men  ? "  ''  Hurry  up," 
said  Mercury,  "  and  announce  that  we  are  coming." 
In  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it.  Narcissus  skipped 
out.  All  the  way  being  down  hill,  the  descent  was 
easy.  And  so,  in  spite  of  his  gout,  he  came  in  a 
twinkling  to  Pluto's  door,  where  lay  Cerberus, 
or  as  Horace  says,  "the  beast  with  the  hundred 
heads."  Narcissus  was  a  trifle  scared  —  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  have  a  white  dog  as  a  pet  — 
when  he  saw  that  huge,  hairy  black  dog,  which,  on 
my  word,  is  one  that  you  wouldn't  like  to  meet  in 
the  dark.  And  with  a  loud  voice  he  said,  "  Claudius 
is  coming."  Then  a  crowd  began  to  come  forward 
with  clapping  of  hands  and  chanting  :  "  We  have  got 
him  ;  let  us  rejoice  !  "  Among  them  were  C.  Silius 
the  consul-elect,  luncus  the  ex-praetor,  Sextus 
Traulus,  M.  Helvius,  Trogus,  Cotta,  Vettius  Valens, 
and  Fabius,  Roman  knights  whom  Narcissus  had 
ordered  to  execution.  In  the  middle  of  this  com- 
pany of  singers  was  Mnester  the  dancer,  whom 
Claudius  had  made  shorter  for  the  sake  of  appear- 
ances. To  Messalina  —  the  report  that  Claudius 
had  come  quickly  spread  —  they  gathered;  first 
of  all,  the  freedmen  Polybius,  Myron,  Harpocras, 
Amphaeus,  and  Pheronactus,  all  of  whom  Claudius 
had  sent  ahead  in  order  that  he  might  not  be  any- 
where unprepared ;  then  the  two  prefects  Justus 
Catonius  and  Rufrius  Pollio ;  then  the  Emperor's 
friends  Saturninus  Lusius  and  Pedo  Pompeius  and 


TRANSLATION  151 

Lupus  and  Celer  Asinius,  of  consular  rank ;  finally 
his  brother's  daughter,  his  sister's  daughter,  his 
sons-in-law,  his  fathers-in-law,  his  mothers-in-law, 
in  fact  all  his  relatives ;  and  forming  in  line  they 
came  to  meet  Claudius.  When  he  had  seen  them, 
he  exclaimed:  ^^Plcfity  of  friends,  everyzvhere ! 
How  did  you  come  here  ?  "  Then  said  Pedo  Pom- 
peius:  **What  are  you  talking  about,  you  cruel 
villain  ?  *  How  ? '  did  you  ask  ?  Well,  who  else 
but  you  has  sent  us  here,  you  murderer  of  all 
your  friends?  Come  to  the  court  of  justice.  I'll 
show  you  where  our  tribunal  is.** 

He  led  him  to  the  bar  of  Aeacus,  who  conducted  14 
the  trial  under  the  CorneHan  law  against  assassins.  \ 
He  asked  that  the  court  would  enter  the  name, 
and    recorded    the    accusation :   Senators    killed, 
thirty-five;    Roman    knights,    two    hundred    and 
twenty-one ;  other  persons,  as  mmiy  as  the  sands 
on  the  seashore.     No  one  was  found  as  counsel  for 
the  accused  until  at  length  P.  Petronius  came  for- 
ward, an  old  boon  companion  of  his,  a  man  skilled 
in  the  Claudian  tongue,  and  asked  for  a  postpone- 
ment.    It  was  not  granted.     Pedo  Pompeius  spoke 
for  the  prosecution  with  loud  shouts.     The  attorney     / 
for  the  defence  wanted  to  begin  his  reply.     Aeacus,  \J 
most  equitable  of  persons,  forbade  him  and  con- 
demned Claudius  after  hearing  only  one  side,  say- 
ing :  ''Right  will  be  done  him  if  he  be  treated  as 
he  treated  others ^     Then  there  was  a  tremendous 
silence.     Everybody  was  struck  dumb  by  the  nov- 


152  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA 

elty  of  the  procedure.  They  said  the  thing  never 
happened  before.  To  Claudius  it  seemed  more 
unjust  than  new.  Over  the  nature  of  the  penalty 
there  was  a  long  discussion,  as  to  what  would  be 
an  appropriate  sentence  for  him.  Various  ones 
said  that  if  they  made  Tantalus'  suffering  too  long 
he  would  perish  of  thirst  unless  somebody  came 
to  his  rescue;  and  that  poor  Ixion's  wheel  ought 
at  last  to  be  stopped.  But  it  was  decided  that  no 
release  should  be  given  to  any  of  the  old  ones,  lest 
Claudius  should  sometime  hope  for  the  same  in 
his  turn.  It  was  decided  that  a  new  punishment 
ought  to  be  arranged,  that  for  him  must  be  devised 
some  vain  task  and  the  hope  of  gratifying  some 
desire,  without  end  or  consummation.  Then 
Aeacus  commanded  him  to  gamble  with  a  bottom- 
less dice-box.  And  already  he  had  begun  to 
search  for  his  constantly  escaping  dice  and  to 
accomplish  nothing;   for 

15  Every  time  when  he  wanted  to  throw  from  his 

clattering  dice-box, 
Both  of  the  dice  escaped  him  by  way  of  the  hole 

in  the  bottom. 
Then  when  he  gathered  them  up  and  once  more 

ventured  to  play  them, 
Over  again  they  gave  him  the  slip,  and  kept  him 

pursuing. 
Constantly  baffling  his  hopes  by  skipping  away 

through  his  fingers, 


T RAN  SLA  TION  I  5  3 

Always  trickily  sliding  through  with  the  same  old 

deception,  — 
Tiresome  as  when  poor  Sisyphus  reaches  the  top 

of  his  mountain 
Vainly  to  feel  his  burden  go  rolling  back  from  his 

shoulders. 

Suddenly  C.  Caesar  appeared  and  began  to 
claim  him  as  his  slave.  He  produced  witnesses 
who  had  seen  Claudius  getting  thrashed  by  him 
with  whips,  with  rods,  and  with  his  fists.  The 
man  was  adjudged  to  C.  Caesar;  Caesar  presented 
him  to  Aeacus  ;  the  latter  delivered  him  to  Me- 
nander  his  freedman,  to  be  his  law-clerk. 


NOTES 


1.  ante  diem  III.  idus  Octobris :  This  is  the  date  of  Clau- 
dius's death  given  by  Suet.  67.  45,  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  69,  and  Dio 
Cas.  Ix.  34  (rrj  TptTrj  kol  SeKarr)  tov  ^OKToy/SpLOv),  It  is  also 
the  date  of  the  sequel  which  took  place  in  heaven,  for  appar- 
ently the  statement  of  Tacitus,  caelestesque  honores  Clatidio 
decernuntur^  etc.,  belongs  to  the  same  day. 

The  year  (54  a.d.)  is  indicated  in  the  earlier  texts  by  the 
consulate,  Asinio  Mar  cello  Acilio  Aviola  coss.,  probably  inter- 
polated from  Suet.  45,  where  the  names  occur  in  the  same 
form.  Cf.  Tac.  xii.  64.  They  are  absent  from  the  St.  G., 
Val.,  and  other  principal  mss.  Besides,  as  BUcheler  re- 
marks, the  determination  of  the  year  is  here  unnecessary,  for 
there  is  sufficient  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Ludus  was  pro- 
duced very  shortly  after  Claudius's  death. 

anno  novo :  not  in  the  ordinary  sense  in  which  the  expres- 
sion was  used  by  the  Romans,  as  by  us.  Here  it  means  the 
beginning  of  Nero's  reign,  and  is  explained  by  the  words  that 
follow. 

initio :  Wachsmuth  would  eject  this  word  as  a  gloss  to  the 
preceding,  The  elaboration,  however,  is  quite  as  likely  to 
be  the  author's  own. 

saeculi  felicissimi:  Rousseau  takes  saeculi  in  the  precise 
sense  of  the  century  which  began  with  the  secular  games  that 
Claudius  celebrated,  according  to  a  chronology  of  his  own  de- 
vising, at  the  cost  of  some  ridicule.  But  it  is  more  to  the 
point,  here,  if  taken  to  signify  the  happy  era  inaugurated  by 
the  coming  of  Nero  to  power.  The  allusion,  during  his  Quin- 
quennmtn^    would    be    immediately    intelligible.       Compare 

155 


156  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  i. 

Apollo's  song  in  chapter  4.  The  Q^x^^xts,sion  felicitafi  saeculi 
instantis  occurs  in  a  similar  sense  in  a  senatusconsultum  of 
about  A.D.  45  {C.I.L.  X.  1401). 

nihil  nee  offensae  nee  gratiae  dabitur :  Similarly,  Tacitus  in 
beginning  his  Histories  says  :  Mihi  Galba,  Otho,  Vitellius  nee 
beneficio  nee  iniiiria  cogniti.  The  mock-seriousness  of  the 
present  resolve  is  well  in  character.  Seneca  may  have  had 
the  grievance  of  his  exile  in  mind.  The  second  part,  at  least, 
of  his  promise  is  kept  with  philosophic  loyalty. 

me  liberum  faetum :  i.e.  to  speak  his  mind.  But  the  phrase 
seems  to  have  been  a  common  one.  Cf.  c.  12  :  populus  Ro- 
manus  ambulabat  tanqtiam  liber ;  recall  Claudius's  remark  in 
refusing  a  request  of  the  Ostians  (Suet.  CI.  40),  si  quern 
alium^  et  se  liberum  esse.  Otto  cites  also  Petron.  117:  nee 
minus  liber  sum  quam  vos, 

ex  quo :  This  is  perhaps  to  be  noted  as  a  mannerism.  Cf. 
ex  quo  in  senatu  iuravit,  below ;  ex  quo  cu7n  ani7fui  luctatur 
(c.  3)  ;  ex  quo  deus  f actus  sum  (c.  10).  Similarly,  in  c.  4, 
ex  eo  desiity  etc.  For  the  same  phrase  elsewhere,  cf.  e.g.  Pe- 
tron. 64 :  ex  quo  podag7-icus  f actus  sum ;  also  Verg.  Aen. 
ii.  163  and  648.     Compare  the  Greek,  d<^'  ov,  Aristoph.  Plut. 

II73- 

suum  diem  obiit :  as  we  say,  "  his  time  had  come."  Cf.  Pe- 
tron. 61 :  supremum  dietn  obiit ;  so  commonly  also  obiit, 
alone. 

verum :  predicate  to  proverbium.  Mommsen  and  Birt  in 
suggesting  bis  verum  and  Wachsmuth  with  bifaria7n  veru7n, 
seem  to  mistake  the  sense  of  the  proverb.  So  perhaps  do 
Biicheler  and  Otto  in  their  explanation  that  Seneca  has  dis- 
torted it  from  its  original  sense.  Claudius  was  not  born  3. 
monarch,  but  being  fatuus  he  had  of  course  the  luck  to 
become  one. 

aut  regem  aut  fatuum  nasci  oportere :  apparently  a  popular 
saw.  The  two  terms  are  similarly  coupled  in  the  Greek 
proverb,  fJL(x}p<2  koI  ^ao-tXet  vo/jiof;  aypa(f>o<;.  (Porphyrio  to 
Her.  Sat.  ii.  3,  188).     Compare  Caligula's  epigram,  aut  frugi 


c.  I.]  NOTES  157 

hominem  esse  oportet,  aut  Caesarem  (Suet.  Cal.  37).  In 
c.  II,  Crassum  vero  tatn  fatuum  ut  etiam  regnare  posset  is 
evidently  a  reminiscence  of  the  present  proverb.  Erasmus 
includes  this  in  his  Adagia  (No.  1201)  with  an  extended  dis- 
cussion of  royal  fools  and  the  points  which  royalty  and  folly 
have  in  common.  Cf.  Juv.  vi.  223  :  Sit  pro  ratio7ie  voluntas. 
On  Claudius'  claims  to  the  title  oi  fattius,  see  esp.  Suet.  CI. 
3?  4?  15?  3^?  ^^^  39-  Cf.  id.  Nero,  33,  Nero's  pun  on  the 
word  morari,  in  allusion  to  his  stepfather. 

in  buccam :  The  very  colloquial  flavor  of  the  word  in  this 
sense  suits  the  air  of  jocular  candor  with  which  the  writer 
begins  his  narration.     Cf.  Mart.  xii.  24: 

Hie  mecum  licet,  hiCy  luvate,  qiiicquid 
In  buccam  tibi  venerit,  loquaris. 

6en.  Ep.  118,  i  :  Nee  faciajn,  quod  Cicero,  vir  disertissimus, 
facere  Atticum  iubet,  ut  etiam  si  re7n  nullam  habebit,  quod  in 
buccam  venerit,  scribal ;  Cic  ad  Attic,  xii.  i  :  Garrimus 
quicquidin  buccam  f  Compare  also  id.  vii.  10,  and  instances 
in  Petronius  and  Persius. 

quis  unquam  ab  historico,  etc. :  The  joke  is  sufficiently 
broad,  but  might  be  cited  as  a  hint  of  the  good*  time  coming 
for  the  historical  critics. 

iuratores  :  assistants  of  the  censors  who  received  the  sworn 
returns  of  the  citizens.  Cf.  Plant.  Trinum.  872,  Census  quom 
sum,  iuratori  rede  rationem  dedi ;  also  Liv.  xxxix.  44. 

Here  it  is  to  be  understood  that  the  historian  does  not  have 
to  account  for  what  he  has  in  his  possession.  For  a  similar 
use,  cf.  Symmachus,  Oral,  pro  Synes.  i . 

quaerito:  Bucheler's  reading,  better  in  view  of  si  quis, 
above,  and  of  scis  and  ititerrogaveris,  than  the  quaerite  of 
earlier  editions.     But  cf.  scitis  and  audite  in  chapter  5. 

Drusilla:  Julia  Drusilla,  second  daughter  of  Germanicus 
and  Agrippina  (the  Elder)  ;  sister  and  mistress  of  Caligula ; 
see  Suet.  Cal.  24.  On  his  extravagant  mourning  for  her  at 
her  death,  a.d.  38,  cf.  ibid,   and  Dio,  lix.  lo-ii.     Seneca 


158  THE   SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  i. 

reprehends  this  in  his  Consol  ad  Polyb.  17.  Dio  tells  of  her 
consecratio  and  says  that  a  shrine  and  college  of  twenty  priests 
and  priestesses  were  established  in  her  honor.  Medals,  both 
Greek  and  Latin,  are  extant  representing  her  apotheosis,  and 
there  are  various  honorary  inscriptions  to  her  as  a  divinity, 
e.g.  C.I.L.  XI.  3598,  on  a  pedestal  now  in  the  Lateran, 
DIVAE    DRUSILLAE   SORORI    c.   caesaris  AUGUSTI   GERMANICI. 

According  to  Dio,  it  was  Livius  Geminius  who  testified  to 
his  fellow-senators  that  he  had  seen  Drusilla  going  up  to 
join  the  gods.  He  got  250,000  denarii  for  it.  Compare,  for 
a  similar  witness  when  Augustus  went  to  heaven,  Suet.  Aug, 
100,  and  Dio,  Ivi.  46. 

non  passibus  acquis :  from  Verg.  ii.  724,  with  comic  com- 
parison to  the  "  little  lulus,"  who  could  not  keep  up  with  his 
father.  On  Claudius's  unsteady  gait,  cf.  c.  5,  and  also  Suet. 
30,  and  elsewhere. 

velit,  nolit :  a  familiar  colloquialism  for  the  fuller  form,  sive 
velit,  sive  nolit,  like  our  "willy  nilly."  Cf.  Petron.  71,  horo- 
logium  in  medio,  ut  quisquis  horas  inspiciet,  velit  nolit,  nomen 
meum  legal;  Sen.  de  Vit.  Beat.  iv.  4,  necesse  est,  velit  nolit, 
sequatiir  hilaritas,  etc. ;  id.  de  Brev.  Vit.  viii.  5  :  mors  .  .  . 
cui,  velis,  nolis,  vacandum  est;  id.  Ep.  117,  4,  velint  nolint, 
respondendum  est.  Otto  compares  the  Greek  ovy^  iKiov  ckwv. 
Eurip.  Iphig.  Taur.  512. 

Appiae  viae  curator:  an  office  generally  held  by  men  of 
consular  or  praetorian  rank.  On  the  curatores  viarum  and 
their  functions,  see  Mommsen,  Rd7n.  Staatsrecht,  II.  668  seq. 
and  1077  seq.  (3d  ed.)  ;  compare  also  inscriptions  showing 
the  cursus  honorum  of  the  senatorial  order. 

qua  sets  et  Divum  Augustum  et  Tiberium  Caesarem  ad  deos 
isse :  Both  emperors  died  in  Campania,  and  their  bodies 
were  taken  to  Rome  for  the  funeral  rites  by  this  road,  that  of 
Augustus  from  Nola  (Suet.  Aug.  100),  that  of  Tiberius  from 
Misenum  (id.  Tib.  75).  Only  for  Augustus  was  it  precisely 
a  route  ad  deos,  for  Tiberius  had  not  been  legally  deified. 
But  the  writer's  courtesy  is  all-embracing. 


c.  I.]  NOTES  159 

soli  narrabit,  etc. :  The  senator's  sensitiveness  is  significant 
of  other  recompense  than  the  250,000  denarii. 

ex  quo  in  senatu  iuravit :  Dio  (lix.  11)  describes  his  oath; 
wjjxxrev,  cfaiAetav  koI  cairro)  koI  rots  iraLalv  ct  \pcohoiTO, 
iTrapdo-afxevos  ktL 

quod  viderit:  These  words,  regarded  as  a  gloss  on  the 
preceding  by  Heumann  and  Bucheler,  were,  according  to 
Neubur,  rejected  as  early  as  1604  by  Gruter.  But  the  imita- 
tive passage  in  the  Vi'^a  Walae  (in  Mabillon's  Ada  Sanc- 
torum ord.  S.  Benedicti;  cf.  Hermes,  vi.  126),  eique  pro  tarn 
bono  nuntio  nemo  credidit,  quicquid  viderit  verbis  conceptis 
affirmavit  se  niilli  dicttirum^  etc,  which  is  of  probably  the 
first  half  of  the  ninth  century,  gives  a  reason  for  supposing 
the  words  genuine.  Related  to  the  following  clauses,  the 
tense  of  viderit  must  be  explained  by  a  shift  in  the  writer's 
point  of  view  before  he  reached  vidisset,  and  quod  as  standing 
for  an  indefinite  relative. 

verbis  conceptis  :  like  our  "  in  so  many  words."  Cf.  Serv. 
ad.  Aen.  xii.  13.  Concepta  autem  verba  dicuntur  iurandi 
formula  quam  nobis  transgredi  non  licet.  Cf.  also  Plant. 
Cist.  98  :  At  ille  co7iceptis  iuravit  verbis  ;  id.  Bacchid.  1028  : 
Ego  ius  iurandum  verbis  conceptis  dedi ;  and  elsewhere. 
Similarly,  Petron.  113:  iurat  Eumolpus  verbis  conceptissimis ; 
id.  133:  conceptissimisque  iuravit  verbis. 

carta  clara  affero :  cf.  Ter.  Hecyra,  841  :  Vide  .  .  .  ut  mi 
haec  certa  et  clara  attuleris  ;  with  a  change  of  form,  Liv.  i. 
18:  uti  tu  signa  nobis  certa  adclarassis ;  Cic.  ad  Attic. 
xvi.  13 :  Tu  mihi  de  iis  rebus  quae  novantur  omnia  certa^ 
clara. 

ita  ilium  salvum  et  felicem  habeam :  like  our  "  so  help  me," 
etc.,  inverted.  The  more  natural  Latin  formula  likewise 
would  be  something  nearer  ita  ?ne  salvum  or  ita  ilium  pro- 
pitium  habea?n.  Such  asseverations  are  common  enough  in 
colloquial  usage.  Cf.  eg.  Petron.  61,  Sic  me  felicem  videas ; 
ibid.  69,  Sic  me  salvum  habeatis ;  and  ibid.  44,  ita  meos 
fruniscar.    Apparently  the  narrator  recalls  with  sympathetic 


l6o  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  2. 

irony  the  solemnity  of  Livius  Geminius^s  imprecation,  quoted 
above  from  Dio. 

2.  iam  Phoebus,  etc. :  These  lines  are  by  way  of  indicating 
the  autumn  season,  as  the  following  ones  the  time  of  day.  The 
poetical  redundance  is  an  evident  affectation.  In  Seneca's 
Ep.  122,  there  is  some  more  playful  jesting  over  the  sun's 
movements  in  a  different  vein,  with  quotations  from  the  poets. 
With  this  description,  cf.  Propertius  iv.  20,  4  (ed.  Teub.)  : 

Phoebe^  moraturae  contrahe  lucis  iter. 

In  a  Petronian  fragment  given  in  Baehren's  Poetae  Lat. 
Min.  IV,  No.  75  (Blich.  Petron.  ed.  1862,  Frag.  38),  occurs 
a  description  of  autumn  with  some  similarities. 

ortum:  This  is  the  MS.  reading.  Bucheler,  in  his  editio 
minor^  gives  orbem,  a  suggestion  of  Fromond,  approved  by 
Haupt  Bucheler  earlier  (ed.  1864),  like  Ruhkopf  and  Schus- 
ler,  gave  ortum.  And  the  emendation  seems  unnecessary ; 
contraxerat  ortum  lucis,  though  unusual,  is  by  no  means  im- 
possible, and  is  more  specially  expressive  of  the  change  of 
season  than  the  other  reading.  Phoebus,  by  shortening  his 
journey,  had  narrowed  the  space  or  time  within  which  he  rose 
above  the  horizon. 

tempora  somni :  the  best  MS.  reading  and  that  of  the  editio 
princeps.  Ruhkopf  and  other  editors,  following  the  Codex 
Weissenburgensis  of  Rhenanus,  give  cornua  somni,  the  added 
picturesqueness  of  which  involves  an  unnecessary  complication 
of  figure. 

victrix  .  .  .  Cynthia:  Diana,  of  M  t.  Cynthus.  Note  that  the 
line  repeats  the  sense  of  the  preceding  one.  BUcheler  com- 
pares Ausonius's  Epist.  xxiii  (ed.  Teub.)  to  his  son,  11. 3-4 : 

Luna  — 
Vinceret  ut  tenebras  radiis  velut  aemulafratris, 

gratos  .  .  .  honores  .  .  .  autumni :  cf.  Hor.  Epod.  xi.  6 : 
December  .  .  .  silvis  honorem  decutit.  Also  Mart.  Epig.  vi. 
80, 5  :  Tantus  veris  honos. 


c.  2.]  NOTES  l6l 

carpebat:  Here,  as  in  1.  6,  the  word  is  better  than  other 
words  which  have  been  suggested  to  avoid  the  repetition ; 
e.g.  BUcheler's  spargebat  or  rapiebat,  though  Haupt's  turpabat 
would  be  more  satisfectory.  But  the  repetition  of  the  word 
is  probably  a  mere  betrayal  of  haste  on  the  part  of  the  writer. 

visoque  senescere  Baccho :  The  St.  G.  and  Val.  Mss.  show 
iussoqtfe,  etc.  [/.  Fickert],  which  is  the  reading  adopted  by 
Blicheler  and  other  recent  critics,  instead  of  the  traditional 
viso  of  the  editio  pri7iceps  and  most  of  the  rest.  But  a 
change  in  the  manuscript  from  one  of  these  words  to  the 
other  would  have  been  slight  and  easy,  and  I  venture  to 
choose  viso^  which  makes  the  more  obvious  and  natural  sense, 
in  spite  of  the  ingenious  idea  evolved  from  iusso  senescere 
Baccho.  This,  Bucheler  (following  Schusler)  says,  means 
wine  left  for  greater  maturity  on  the  vines.  The  explanation 
gives  an  unusual  shade  of  meaning  to  the  word  senescere,  and 
seems  somewhat  forced.  *  Viso^  he  adds,  passt  offenbar  nicht 
zti  *  rarasy  sems.''  He  does  not  explain  why,  and  it  is  hardly 
apparent. 

serus  vindemitor :  though  it  was  only  the  middle  of  Octo- 
ber. Pliny's  definition  of  the  zustum  vindemiae  te?npus  is 
quoted  by  some  of  the  editors,  ab  aequinoctw  ad  vergiliarum 
occasum^  from  the  24th  of  September  to  the  beginning  of 
November.     Vindemitor,  for  the  more  usual  vindemiator. 

puto  magis  intellegi,  etc. :  For  other  remarks  in  the  same 
tone,  see  Introd.  pp.  83,  84;  especially  Ausonius,  in  the  epis- 
tle already  quoted :  Nescis,  puto,  quid  velim  tot  7/ersibus 
dicer e,  etc.  (p.  266,  ed.  Teub.).  On  the  tense  of  intellegi, 
see  Introd.  p.  71. 

si  dixero,  mensis  erat  October:  Note  the  colloquial  para- 
taxis, so  frequent  in  Petronius  and  Plautus.     See  p.  71. 

dies  III.  idus  Octobris :  October  13,  as  confirmed  by  Dio, 
Ix.  34.     Friedlander,  curiously,  gives  the  date  as  October  12. 

inter  philosophos :  The  slur  recalls  our  "  when  doctors  dis- 
agree," etc.  Jokes  at  the  expense  of  philosophers  have  of 
course  always  been  in  order.     Here  there  is  special  flavor  in 

M 


l62  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  2. 

one  by  Seneca  against  his  own  kind.  Compare  Lucian's  fre- 
quent satire  on  their  pedantic  disagreements. 

quam  inter  horologia  conveniet :  Water-clocks  were  notori- 
ously inaccurate. 

inter  sextam  et  septimam :  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock. 
Cf.  Suet.  Nero,  8 :  id  de  Claudio  palain  factum  est,  ititer 
horain  sextain  septimamque,  etc.  So  also  Tac.  Ann.  xii. 
69:  medio  diet.  Claudius's  death  occurred  in  the  morning, 
but  Agrippina  did  not  allow  it  to  be  announced  till  midday. 
Seneca  naturally  gives  the  official  hour. 

*  nimis  rustice ! '  inquies :  '  sunt  omnes  poetae,'  etc. :  The  manu- 
script reading  here  is  nmiis  rustice  adqtiiescunt  o?nnes,  etc. 
The  passage  has  been  much  disputed.  Blicheler's  text  reads  : 
'  nimis  rustice '  inquies :  '  cum  omnes  poetae^  etc.,  and  the  fol- 
lowing ut  is  bracketed.  Schoppe,  according  to  Ruhkopf  and 
Biicheler,  had  already  proposed  practically  the  same  reading. 
Gronovius  had :  Nimis  rustice,  inquies  tu  nunc,  Horni poetae 
non  contenti .  .  .  inquietant :  tu  sic,  etc.,  the  ut  being  omitted. 
The  need  for  cutting  this  out  is  an  objection  to  the  change  in 
the  first  part  of  the  sentence.  A  fair  case  could  be  made  out 
for  the  manuscript  reading,  which  is  kept  by  Fickert,  Schenkl, 
and  Birt ;  the  last  explains  adquiescunt  in  the  sense  of  making 
a  pause  in  the  narration  {quod  rhetor es  in  tractatiojie  nominant 
TY]v  avoLTravXav  tcov  irpay^aTdiv)  for  the  sake  of  dwelling  upon 
the  beauties  of  nature.  A  reading  adopted  by  Ruhkopf  and 
several  of  the  other  editors  is  acquiescunt  oneri  poetae. 
Neubur  changed  to  honori  in  the  same  place.  Haupt  pro- 
posed :  Nimis  rustice.  adsuescunt  omnes  poetae  .  .  .  ut  etiam 
medium  diem  inquietent.  Haase  gives:  Nimis  rustice  ad- 
quiescis.  nu7ic  \_adeo'\  omnes  poetae,  etc.,  adeo  being  in- 
serted before  non  contenti  to  precede  the  result  clause 
with  ut.  All  these  latter  readings  require  the  assumption 
that  the  writer  is  simply  talking  to  himself,  but  for  this 
the  text  offers  no  preparation.  He  is  talking  to  his  reader, 
or  his  auditor,  in  scis  and  interrogaveris,  just  before.  It 
seems  to  me  that  the  ijtquies  of  Bucheler's  reading  should  be 


c.  3.]  NOTES  163 

kept,  but  from  the  latter  part  of  the  manuscript  adquiescunt  I 
have  ventured  sunt  instead  of  cu?n^  as  a  sHghter  change,  and 
one  which  allows  retaining  the  ///.  The  unusual  position  of 
sunt^  detached  from  contentZy  must  of  course  be  explained  as 
a  matter  of  emphasis.  In  some  of  Seneca's  essays  a  similar 
order  is  somewhat  frequent.  Cf.  e.g.  De  Const.  Sap.  ix.  2 ; 
est  et  ilia  inuria  frequens ;  De  Prov.  vi.  9 ;  non  stmt  volnere 
penitus  impresso  scrtdanda  praecordia.  Haase's  adeo  would 
be  an  improvement  of  the  text,  but  is  not  required. 

Seneca  is  amusing  himself  over  the  common  poetical  ten- 
dency to  indulge  in  effusive  description,  which  appears  to 
have  been  peculiarly  marked  in  his  day.  Compare,  in  Petron. 
1-2,  Encolpius's  complaint  of  the  bad  taste  shown  by  the 
declaimers  of  the  period.  It  was  of  a  tolerabilis  poet  a  that 
Seneca  said  {Ep.  122,  11)  :  ortus  et  occasus  libentissime 
inserebat;  but  ordinary  versifiers  even  went  beyond  such 
accredited  themes  as  sunrises  and  sunsets.  Cf.  again  Auso- 
nius,  Ep.  xxiii  (Teub.),  milhim  .  .  .  ad poeticam  factindiam 
Romanae  iuventiitis  aeqtiari^  though  this  was  of  a  later  day. 
Cf.  also  Quintilian's  chapter  de  Tropis  (viii.  6,  59-61) : 
ornatum  .  .  .  solum  [7rtpL<i>pa<nv]  qui  est  apud  poetas  fre- 
quentissimiis. 

iam  .  .  .  Phoebus  diviserat :  Neubur,  in  his  edition,  inserts  a 
cum  with  the  beginning  of  the  following  prose,  as  correlative 
to  the  iam.  Mahly  suggests  the  same.  But  the  regulariza- 
tion  is  unnecessary,  the  abrupt  change  in  the  form  of  diction 
being  enough.  Compare  the  asyndeton  with  the  beginning 
of  tu  sic  trans  ibis,  just  before. 

fessas :  with  habenas  by  a  not  uncommon  shift  in  the  agree- 
ment, instead  oi  fessus  agreeing  with  the  subject.  Haase, 
Fickert,  and  some  other  editors,  however,  change  to  the  latter 
form. 

3.  Claudius  animam  agere,  etc. :  Haase  and  some  other 
editors  make  the  chapter  begin  with  the  following  line,  Tti77i 
Mercurius,  etc. 

Rhenanus  thought  these  words  a  covert  allusion,  cum  anima 


1 64  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  3. 

etiain  pro  vento  ponatur,  to  Claudius's  habit  mentioned  at  the 
end  of  chapter  4.  But  anmta?n  agere  is  the  common  phrase 
for  "  give  up  the  ghost."  Nee  invenire  exitum  poterat^  how- 
ever, is  a  comic  elaboration  of  the  figure.  Cf.  cum  anima 
luctatur^  below.  Compare  also  Shakespeare,  Richard  Illy 
i.  4,  where  Clarence  says : 

"  And  often  did  I  strive 
To  yield  the  ghost ;  but  still  the  envious  flood 
Stopt  in  my  soul,  and  would  not  let  it  forth 
To  find  the  vast  and  wandering  air ; 
But  smothered  it  within  my  panting  bulk, 
Which  almost  burst  to  belch  it  in  the  sea." 

As  to  the  fact  in  Claudius's  case,  cf.  Suet.  CL  44 :  excrucia- 
tu7nque  doloribus  node  tot  a  ;  also  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  67. 

Mercurius  .  .  .  ingenio  eius  delectatus :  Why?  Hardly 
in  our  modern  sense  of  simple  amusement,  though  cf.  Cicero's 
ad  CO  delectari  facilius  quam  decipi  {Div.  in  Caecil.  13). 
The  clever  Mercury  was  in  no  danger  of  being  taken  in.  It 
may  have  been  due  to  his  fondness  for  chicanery,  which 
Claudius  unintentionally  encouraged.  See  note,  c.  12,  on  the 
causidici.  Bucheler  suggests  an  ironical  allusion  to  the  taste 
for  eloquence  of  the  facundus  nepos  Atlantis^  since  Claudius 
was  not  a  bad  speaker  on  a  set  occasion  (cf.  Tac.  Ann. 
xiii.  3),  or  possibly  to  Claudius's  literary  studies;  more 
especially,  however,  to  his  gambling  (Suet.  33)  and  his 
encouragement  of  commerce.  Note  (Suet.  18)  his  interest 
in  the  provision  market,  and  his  giving  of  ship-subsidies, 
mercaturae  causa.  Compare  Petronius's  Trimalchio,  who 
had  Mercury  as  his  patron.  Here  the  god  appears  also 
desirous  of  performing  his  office  as  conductor  of  the  dead. 
Cf.  c.  12,  13. 

unam  e  tribus  Parcis  :  Clotho  ;  see  below,  c.  4,  init. 

tam  diu :  This  seems  to  refer  to  the  length  of  his  life 
rather  than  the  mere  effort  implied  in  nee  invenire  exittim 
poterat,  though  Cortius  compares  Juno's  pity  of  Dido's  longum 


c.  3.]  NOTES  165 

dolor em^  Aen.  iv.  693.  Here  is  a  specific  contrast  with  the 
Consol  ad  Polyb.  c.  12  :  Di  ilium  deaeqiie  terris  diu  contmode7it, 
acta  hie  divi  Atigusti  aequet,  annas  vincat.  Compare  also 
the  ingeniously  malicious  flattery  of  L.  Vitellius  (Suet. 
Vitell.  2)  :  Hiiiiis  et  ilia  vox  est  '  Saepe  facias ,  cum  saeculares 
ludos  edenti  Clatidio  gratidarettir. 

cesset:  an  emendation  of  Bucheler^s  (ed.  min.).  The  St. 
Gall  MS.  reads  fiec  ufnquaitt  tatn  diti  cruciatus  esset,  Haase 
and  Blicheler  (ed  '64)  give  exiet^  from  which  the  corruption 
to  esset  would  have  been  particularly  easy.  But  exiet  for 
exibit  is  late  and  very  exceptional,  and  the  c  in  cesset  may 
easily  have  been  dropped  from  confusion  with  the  final  s  of 
cruciatus  written  cursively.  Another  reading  adopted  by 
Ruhkopf  and  Holtze  is  cruciandtis  esset ;  others  proposed 
are  less  probable. 

annus  sexagesimus  quartus :  as  says  also  Suet.  CI.  45 : 
Excessit  .  .  .  sexagesimo  quarto  aetatis,  imperii  quarto 
deci7no  anno.  Cf.  Dio,  Ix.  34 :  /LtcTT/AAafc  .  .  .  ^T/o-a?  e^iy/covra 
Kttt  Tpva.  €77].  Cf.  Suet.  CI.  2 :  Claudius  natus  est  lulio 
Antonio^  Fabio  Africano  conss.  {i.e.   10  B.C.)  Kal.  Aug. 

ex  quo  cum  anima  luctatur:  cf.  Sil.  Ital.  x.  295;  luctatur 
morti. 

rei  publicae :  The  earlier  editions  have  respondit,  apparently 
from  a  copyist's  mistake  arising  from  the  abbreviation  of  rei 
publicae  in  the  mss.  (reip)  :  see  Introd.  p.  92. 

patera  mathematicos  aliquando  varum  dicera  :  Ex  post  facto 
veracity,  a  thrust  at  the  soothsayers  that  can  hardly  be 
called  covert.  As  to  their  expulsion  fi-om  Italy,  cf.  Tac.  An?t. 
xii.  52. 

omnibus  annis  .  .  .  effarunt :  i.e.  bury.  Claudius  was 
several  times  frightened  by  dreams  and  prophecies  of  his 
death.  Cf.  Suet.  CI.  37,  on  the  influence  of  these  terrors. 
Recall  also  the  popular  pity  for  him  as  he  was  believed  to  be 
on  his  way  to  death  at  the  accidental  beginning  of  his  reign 
(Suet.  10).  His  health,  however,  was  generally  better  afi:er 
than  before  he  became  emperor  (Suet.  31).     On   the   imme- 


1 66  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  3. 

diate  presages  of  his  approaching  death,  which  he  recognized, 
cf.  Suet.  46. 

non  est  minim  si  errant,  etc. :  His  horoscope  could  not  be 
cast.  There  seems  to  be  a  certain  psychological  kinship 
between  this  and  raw  modern  jokes  upon  faces  so  ugly  that 
they  would  break  a  camera.  Recall  Suet.  CI.  3,  where  his 
mother  portentti^n  eum  hominis  dictitabat. 

horam  eius :  Some  of  the  commentators  consider  this  his 
hora  natalisy  by  which  would  be  determined  his  horoscope 
and  consequently  horafatalis.  But  cf.  c.  i :  suum  diejn  obiit. 
I  incline  to  take  horam  eius  after  efferunt^  etc.,  as  meaning 
directly  his  hora  fatalis^  to  which  the  inference  from  his 
birth-hour  is  implied  in  the  following  clause. 

nemo  .  .  .  natum  putavit :  a  proverbial  expression  mean- 
ing to  treat  as  a  nonentity.  Cf.  Petron.  58 :  qui  te  natum 
non  putat;  Martial,  iv.  83,  3  : 

Securus  nullum  resalutas,  despicis  omnes, 

Neque  quisquam  liber ^  nee  tibi  natus  homo  est ; 

also  id.  viii.  64,  18;  x.  27,  4;  xi.  Sy,  2;  Plant.  Aulul.  231  : 
Gnatus  quasi  numquam  siem  ;  id.  Trinum.  850  :  neque  natus 
necne  is  fuerit  id  solide  scio;  Cic.  Ep.  ad  Fam.  ix.  15,  4: 
quos  ego  non  modo  reges  appellatos^  sed  omnino  natos  nescie- 
bam.  Otto  compares  with  the  proverb,  Aristoph.  Vesp. 
558 :  05  €/i,'  ovS'  av  ^(ovT*  ^Setr.  For  this  attitude  toward 
Claudius,  cf.  Apoc.  6 :  adeo  ilium  nemo  curabat. 

dede  neci,  melior,  etc  :  from  Verg.  Georg.  iv.  90,  referring 
to  the  ^'  king  "  bee. 

mehercules  :  the  full  archaic  form  of  the  commoner  fnehercle. 
This  was  originally  a  man's  oath,  women  having  the  corre- 
sponding ecastor  or  edepoL  See  the  well-known  account  of  the 
custom  ex  initiis  Eletisinis,  in  Cell.  xi.  6 ;  and  Plautine  usage ; 
also  cf.  Charisius  (Keil.  6^.  Z.  i.  p.  198).  The  early  distinction 
was  coming  to  be  lost.  Cf.  Petron.  17,  Quartilla's  use  oi  Me- 
dius  Fidius^  likewise  strictly  a  masculine  expression.  Neither 
Quartilla's  vocabulary,  however,  nor  perhaps  Clotho's,  in  the 


c.  3.]  NOTES  167 

present  passage,  can  be  taken  as  much  of  a  guide  to  the  usage 
of  polite  society. 

pauculos :  Note  the  colloquial  tendency  to  the  use  of  diminu- 
tives. 

civitate  donaret :  Cf.  Dio,  Ix.  17 :  {jvyyov'^  Sc  8^  mx  aXAovs 
Kat  dvaftovs  t^s  TroAtretas  d7r7/A.ao"e,  kox  kripovi  avrrjv  koI  ttolw 
aveS-qv,  rots  /xev  Kar  avSpa  rots  Se  /cat  d^po'ots,  eStSov.  Recall 
Claudius's  remarkable  speech  in  the  Senate  on  this  subject 
in  connection  with  the  citizenship  of  the  Aeduans  (Tac.  Ann, 
xi.  24;  cf.  C./.L.  XIII.  1668;  de  Boissieu,  p.  133  seg.).  Cf. 
also  C./.L.  V.  5050,  a  bronze  tablet  found  in  1869  ^^^^  Cles, 
Gallia  Cisalpina,  giving  an  edict  of  Claudius  which  confirmed 
the  contested  citizenship  of  the  Anauni.  Compare  Cicero's 
impressions  on  Julius  Caesar's  giving  of  citizenship  to  the 
Sicilians,  Ep.  ad  Attic,  xiv.  12. 

constituerat  enim :  Biicheler  regards  this  sentence,  on  ac- 
count of  the  tense,  as  a  parenthetical  remark  by  the  writer, 
instead  of  as  part  of  Clotho's  speech.  But  it  seems  unneces- 
sary to  suppose  that  Seneca  intruded  himself  as  an  essayist 
at  this  point  in  the  dialogue,  any  more  than  to  count  the 
words  as  a  gloss  by  some  one  else.  Clotho  says,  "he  had 
determined,"  etc. ;  but  now  it  has  become  impossible  for 
him  to  carry  out  his  intention. 

Graecos,  Gallos,  Hispanos,  Britannos :  the  four  most  promis- 
ing provincial  nations.  On  Claudiuses  fondness  for  the  Greeks, 
cf.  e.g.  Suet.  42.  Of  the  Gauls  the  Aeduans  are  specially 
meant ;  see  reference  above.  Cf.  Sen.  de  Benef.  vi.  19,  2  seq.^ 
si  princeps  civitatem  dederit  omnibtes  Gallis,  etc.,  perhaps 
alluding  to  the  same  circumstances.  Claudius's  conquest  of 
the  Britons  was  still  freshly  in  mind.  After  Britannos,  the 
editio  princeps  added  the  words  :  Saiiromatas  et  si  qui  ultra 
glacialem  boream  incolunt  barbari.  As  a  comic  exaggeration 
they  would  perhaps  help  the  flm,  and  so  are  not  to  be  thrown 
out  on  subjective  grounds ;  but  they  are  lacking  in  the  best 
MSS.,  and  are  so  obviously  taken  from  Juv.  ii.  i,  that  they 
have  been  generally  rejected  by  the  critics,  from  Rhenanus 


1 68  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  3. 

down.  Schenkl  compares  Sen.  de  Providentia,  iv.  14,  gentes, 
in  qtiibus  Rotnana  pax  desinitj  Germanos  dico  et  quicquid 
circa  Istrum  vagarutn  gentiu7n  occursat.  perpetua  illos 
hienis  .  .  .  premit^  .  .  .  super  durata  glacie  stagna  persul- 
tant,  etc. 

togatos:  the  use  of  the  toga  being  restricted  to  Roman 
citizens. 

peregrines  in  semen :  Mercury  apparently  was  more  con- 
servative than  Fate.  But  according  to  the  census  of  48  a.d. 
(Tac.  Ann.  xi.  25),  there  were  not  quite  six  million  citizens,  so 
as  Biicheler  remarks  there  was  enough  Per egrinen-S amen  left. 

capsulam :  The  diminutive,  "  little  box,"  gives  a  comic  aspect 
to  the  operations  of  destiny. 

fusos:  Cf.  Verg.  Eel.  iv.  46,  and  Ov.  Her.  xii.  4,  for  ex- 
amples of  the  use  of  these  as  attributes  of  the  Fates. 

Augurini :  elsewhere  unknown  to  us. 

Babae:  mentioned  in  Seneca's  Ep.  15,  9;  quam  tu  nunc 
vitam  did  existimas  stultam?  Babae  et  Isionisf  Evi- 
dently he  was  a  familiar  example  of  stupidity.  The  name 
suggests  it.  Cf.  babaecalis,  Petron.  37 ;  also  such  formations 
as  baburrus,  the  Greek  /8ap/3a/)o?,  and  our  babble.  Stahr 
thinks  the  humor  lies  in  the  alphabetical  series.  A,  B,  C,  of 
the  three  names  for  which  the  three  fusi  are  taken  from  the 
box,  Clotho  disposing  of  the  three  blockheads  as  we  say  "  in 
one-two-three  order." 

tres  uno  anno :  Yet  Mercury  and  Clotho  began  talking  in 
the  actual  death  hour  of  Claudius ;  the  point  of  view  as  to 
the  time  of  the  action  is  not  consistently  maintained.  See 
Introd.  p.  66. 

nee  .  .  .  incomitatum :  On  Claudius's  well-known  depend- 
ence upon  those  about  him,  cf.  Suet.  2^,  fin.,  and  elsewhere. 

convictoribus  :  Cf.  c.  14 :  P.  Petronius  vetus  conviUor  eius. 
On  the  friends  and  table  companions  of  the  emperor,  see 
Friedlander,  Sittengesch.  Ro7ns,  I.  pp.  148-153  (6th  ed.,  1888). 

4.  haec  ait,  etc. :  The  following  verses  are  a  not  very 
happy  interruption  to  the  progress  of  the  action,  an  appeal. 


c.  4.]  NOTES  169 

so  to  say,  to  the  imperial  gallery,  explained  not  by  the  needs 
of  the  play,  but  by  the  requirements  of  the  audience.  Cutting 
the  thread  of  one  emperor's  life  naturally  suggests  spinning 
that  of  his  successor,  but  there  is  no  sufficient  artistic  apology 
for  the  lines,  which  are  redundant  with  commonplace.  For 
the  picture  of  the  spinning,  Bucheler  compares  Catullus,  Ixiv. 
311  seq. : 

Laeva  colum  molli  lana  retinebat  a7nictum 
Dexter  a  turn  leviter  dediicens  fila  5tipi7iis 
Formabat  digitis  turn  prono  in  pollice  torquens 
Libratutn  tereti  versabat  turbine  ftisum. 

abnipit  .  .  .  tempora:  /.^.  of  course  the  thread  correspond- 
ing to  that  part  of  Claudius's  career.  We  should  have  ex- 
pected this  function  to  be  performed  by  Atropos,  as  that 
indicated  in  the  first  line  by  Lachesis.  The  technicalities 
of  the  myth  seem  to  be  rather  loosely  adapted. 

Lachesis :  the  disposer  of  lots,  who  spun  out  all  events  and 
actions  in  each  human  life,  while  Clotho  held  the  distaff. 

Pieria  .  .  .  lauro :  in  compliment,  of  course,  to  the  Apollo- 
like Nero. 

mutatur  .  .  .  metallo :  in  exaggeration  of  the  foregoing  co- 
lorem  assumpsere  novum.  The  notion  of  alchemistic  transfor- 
mation was  famiUar  at  least  since  the  days  of  Midas.  Cf. 
Petron.  43  :  in  manu  illius  plumbum  auru?n  fiebat. 

aurea  .  .  .  saecula :  Cf.  the  picture  in  Verg.  Ed.  iv.  The  allu- 
sion was  hackneyed  enough.  Recall  the  verses  written  against 
Tiberius  (Suet.  Tib.  59)  : 

Aurea  mutasti  Saturni  saecula^  Caesar : 
Incolumi  nam  te  ferrea  semper  erunt. 

Tithoni  .  .  .  Nestoris  annos :  Cf.  11.  16-18.  With  the  pro- 
verbial use  of  these  names  to  typify  great  age,  Otto  compares 
our  *^as  old  as  Methusaleh."  Cf.  Martial,  ii.  64,  3 ;  v.  58,  5, 
and  elsewhere,  Nestor  being  often  coupled  with  Priam ;  Car- 
mina  Priapea  (ed.  Bucheler),  57  and  76;  Sen.  Ep.  77,  20: 


I/O  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  4. 

NafH  si  ad  naturam  7'erum  respexeris^  etiam  Nestoris  \yita\ 
et  Sattiae  brevis  est.  Also  especially  Statius,  Silv.  i.  4,  123- 
127: 

Nectite  nunc  laetae  candentia  fila,  sorores, 
Neciite  !  nemo  7nodu7n  transmissi  comptitet  aevi. 
Hie  vitae  natalis  erit.     tu  Troica  dignus 
Saecula  et  Euboici  transcendere  pulveris  annos 
Nestor eosque  situs  I 

Phoebus  adest,  etc. :  in  further  compliment  to  Nero. 

fallitque  laborem :  a  familiar  use  of  the  verb,  here  however 
explained  by  the  preceding  words.  Cf.  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  2,  12: 
studio  fallente  laborem^  and  the  same  phrase  in  Ovid,  Met, 
vi.  60.  Cf.  also  ibid.  viii.  651,  medias  fallunt  sermonibus 
horas^  and  elsewhere. 

fraternaque  carmina:  According  to  the  account  that  the 
Parcae  were  daughters  of  Jupiter  and  Themis,  Apollo  was 
their  half-brother.  > 

mihi  similis  vultu,  etc. :  For  an  account  of  Nero's  personal 
appearance,  see  Suet.  Nero,  51.  But  at  the  present  writing 
Nero  still  was  more  youthful.  He  seems  to  have  been  him- 
self thoroughly  convinced  by  this  and  similar  flattery  with 
which  he  was  commonly  greeted.  We  are  reminded  some- 
what of  the  fashion  in  which  Queen  Elizabeth's  vanity  was 
satisfied  and  played  upon.  Nero  in  his  way  was  equally  a 
coquette. 

nee  cantu  nee  voce  minor:  On  Nero's  musical  studies,  see 
Suet.  Nero,  20 ;  Dio,  Ixi.  20,  and  Ixiii.  20.  On  Apollo's  sup- 
posed jealousy  of  his  voice,  Dio,  Ixiii.  14.  For  other  opinions, 
see  Suet.  Nero,  39.  Compare  also  Lucian's  dialogue  entitled 
Nero,  on  the  Isthmian  canal  and  Nero's  tour  in  Greece  ;  espe- 
cially Musonius's  second  speech,  commenting  on  Nero's  opin- 
ion that  the  Muses  sang  no  better  than  he,  and  Musonius's 
third  speech,  discussing  the  emperor's  voice  and  musical  abil- 
ity. Cf.  Tac.  Ann.  xvi.  22,  on  Thrasea's  failure  to  sacrifice 
pro  .  .  .  caelesti  voce. 


c.  4.]  NOTES  171 

felicia  lassis  saecula :  The  editio  princeps  and  other  old  edi- 
tions read  lapsis.     Cf.  Racine,  Britannicus,  11.  200-203  • 

Rome,  a  trois  affranchis  si  longtemps  asservie, 
A  peine  respirant  dti  joug  qu"  elle  a  porte, 
Du  rdgne  de  Neron  compte  sa  laberte. 
Que  dis-je  ?  la  vertu  semble  mhne  renaUre,  etc. 

Cf.  also  Jove's  prophecy  in  Verg.  Aen.  i.  291,  and  Hor. 
Car7n.  Saec.  57-60,  upon  the  Augustan  Age,  in  the  same  vein. 

legumque  silentia  rumpet:  Cf.  c.  12  :  iuriscofisulti  e  tenebris 
procedebant,  etc.  Cf.  also  Sen.  ad  Neronem  de  Cle?nentia,  i. 
1,4:  legibus,  qiias  ex  situ  ac  tetiebris  in  lucem  evocavi. 

Lucifer,  Hesperus,  Sol:  Cf.  Serv.  ad  Verg.  Aen.  i.  530: 
Stella  .  .  .  qiiae  ^(i)<jcf>6po<s  Graece,  Latine  dicitur  Lucifer, 
qu7im  antegreditur  solem ;  quum  subsequitur  autem  Hesperos. 
Sol  comes  climactically  after. 

primos  . .  .  axes :  Bucheler  refers  to  the  adjective  as  nicht  zu 
erkldren,  and  suggests  the  reading  pronos,  as  in  Ovid,  Met. 
X.  652.  But  primos  seems  a  simple  case  of  shifted  agree- 
ment. Logically,  it  would  be  an  adverb,  or  if  an  adjective, 
agree  with  the  subject.     Cf. /essas  /labenas  (c.  2). 

carcere  :  used  generally,  of  the  starting-point.  On  the  word, 
see  Varro,  de  Ling.  Lat.  v.  151,  153. 

talis  Caesar :  Cf.  Suet.  Nero,  53 ;  Destinaverat  enim,  quia 
Apollinem  cantu,  Solem  aurigando  aequiperare  existimaretuTj 
imitari  et  Hercidis  facta;  this  defined  ambition,  of  course, 
was  a  later  affair. 

fecit  illud  :  Various  changes  have  been  suggested  to  rid  the 
text  of  illud,  which  Bucheler  brackets,  because  of  the  indefi- 
niteness  of  its  reference  to  the  bidding  of  Apollo,  just  con- 
cluded; Mercury's  injunction,  fac  quod  faciendum  est,  to 
Clotho,  is  doubtless  too  remote  to  be  thought  of  But  illud 
seems  better  than  no  object  at  all  ior  fecit,  and  the  expression 
may  well  stand  as  a  colloquialism,  one  of  those  marking  the 
break-down  of  the  demonstrative  force  of  ille  in  the  plebeian 
speech. 


1/2  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  4. 

plena  manu:  Cf.  our  "open-handed";  as  Sen.  Ep.  120, 
10:  plena  manu  dantem.  The  phrase  is  repeatedly  used  by 
Seneca.  Cf.  also  Cic.  ad.  Attic,  ii.  25,  i.  Similarly,  Petron. 
43  :  7}tanu  plena,  unci  a  fuensa  ;  and  z'dz'd.  64 :  nianuque  plena 
scapulas  eius  .  .  .  verberavit,  where  the  phrase  perhaps  means 
with  doubled  fist.,  or  simply  abundantly.  Compare  also  the 
French  :  depensant  a  pleines  7nains  sans  compter. 

de  suo :  The  meaning  of  the  phrase  after  a  verb  of  giving 
is  plain  enough.  Its  rather  colloquial  abridgment  of  form  is 
comparable  to  the  temporal  ex  quo  (c.  i,etc.).  Cf.  e.g.  Cell, 
xii.  I,  20:  addidit  enini  hoc  de  suo;  Petron.  75 :  archisellitim 
de  suo  paravit,  etc. ;  similarly  in  an  inscription   C.I.L.  XII. 

4333- 

XaCpovras,  €v<|>ii|jLovvTas,  etc. :  from  Euripides's  Cresphontes, 
preserved  in  quotations  by  Strabo  and  Strobaeus.  See 
Nauck,  Fr.  452,  or  Dindorf's  edition,  vol.  ii.  p.  908,  frag.  13 
of  the  Cresphontes,  or  Beck's  ed.  ii.  p.  435  seq.  Cicero 
translates  the  fragment  in  his  Tusc.  Disp.  i.  48,  115,  from 
which  Tyrrell  (JLatin  Poetry^  p.  19)  gives  this  version  in 
English : 

"  When  a  child's  born,  our  friends  should  throng  our  halls 
And  wail  for  all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to ; 
But  when  a  man  has  done  his  long  day's  work 
And  goes  to  his  long  home  to  take  his  rest, 
We  all  with  joy  and  gladness  should  escort  him.'* 

With  cynical  finesse  Seneca  distorts  the  last  verse  from  its 
sense  in  the  original  connection :  there  are  at  least  two  kinds 
of  congratulation  upon  the  end  of  a  long  life,  and,  as  here, 
the  same  phrase  will  sometimes  serve  for  both. 

animam  ebulliit :  clearly  a  vulgarism,  but  after  the  analogy 
of  anima7n  efflare.  Compare  its  use  in  Petron.  42  and  62. 
The  figure  is  evidently  of  the  bubbles  which  arise  from  boil- 
ing water.  The  verb  is  used  absolutely  in  ebulliat  patruusy 
Persius,  ii.  9. 

ex  eo  desiit :   Cf.  the  frequent  ex  quo,  c.  i,  etc. 


c.  5.]  NOTES  173 

desiit  vivere  videri :  For  the  reflection  on  Claudius,  cf.  visits 
est  quasi  homo  (c.  5).  For  the  form  of  expression,  see 
Introd.  p.  69. 

comoedos  audit :  referring  to  those  who  were  introduced 
by  Agrippina  ostensibly  to  entertain  Claudius  after  he  was 
in  fact  dead.     Cf.  Suet.  CI.  45. 

non  sine  causa  illos  timere :  a  joke  similar  in  animus  to 
the  modern  ones  about  things  which  make  one  tired. 

ultima  vox,  etc.  :  a  play  from  Claudius's  defects  of  speech 
to  the  habit  implied  in  Suet.  32,yf«. 

vae  me  :  The  accusative  after  vae  is  very  rare,  but  is  in 
the  line  of  the  tendency  of  plebeian  Latin  to  allow  the  accusa- 
tive to  usurp  many  of  the  uses  of  the  other  oblique  cases. 
It  is  found  in  Plant.  Asi7i.  481,  and  according  to  some  editions, 
in  Catull.  viii.  15,  and  in  Cic.  de  Repub.  i.  38,  59.  Compare, 
in  principle,  the  use  of  the  accusative  with  evenio  in  Petron. 
44 :  aediles  male  eveftiat. 

concacavi :  Note  the  hybrid  formation,  a  Greek  verb  with 
Latin  prefix.     Cf.  praeputio^  c.  8. 

quod  an  fecerit,  nescio :  Qitod  is  here  relative,  with  retro- 
spective reference.  The  reading  quid  autem  fecerit^  found 
in  several  early  editions,  is  less  apt. 

omnia  certe  concacavit;  cf.  AureL  Vict,  de  Vit.  et  Mar. 
Imp.  (CI.)  :  Ita  liberti  eius  .  .  .  omnia  foedabant.  After 
concacavit^  the  first  edition  and  several  succeeding  ones 
added  the  words :  nee  post  boletiun  opipare  medica;;ie?itis 
conditum  phis  cibi  sumpsit.  This  would  be  a  stupid  in- 
trusion of  facts  if  Seneca  had  written  it,  but  it  is  evi- 
dently a  note  from  Juv.  v.  147,  and  the  accounts  of  Suetonius 
and  Tacitus. 

5.   postea :   i.e.  after  Claudius  desiit  vivere  videri. 

scitis  .  .  .  optima :  Here  the  writer  is  addressing  a  plural 
auditory;  contr.  scis  in  c.  i.     Opti?ne  for  certissime. 

excidant  quae  memoriae  .  .  .  impresserit :  so  most  of  the 
editions.  BUcheler  puts  metnoriae  before  qtie^  but  the  St.  G. 
MS.    gives    excidant    que    memoriae,    etc.      Impresserit    is 


174  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  5. 

Bucheler^s  reading,  instead  of  the  commoner  impressit^  from 
the  St.  G.  MS.  iinpressert. 

nemo  .  .  .  obliviscitur :  SchefFer  manages  to  find  here  an 
allusion  to  Claudius's  forgetfulness. 

fides  penes  auctorem :  The  ironical  value  of  this  phrase 
is  increased  by  Sen.  Quaest.  Nat.  iv.  3,  i  :  quod  historici 
faciunt  et  ipse  faciatn :  illi  cum  multa  mentiti  sunt  ad  arbi- 
trium  suunty  unam  aliquant  rein  nolunt  spondere,  sed  adi~ 
ciunt,  'penes  auctores  fides  erit.''  Sallust  is  one  historicus  who 
uses  the  phrase:  Bel.  Jug.  17.  The  present  auctor  is,  of 
course,  Geminius. 

nuntiatur :  The  person  of  the  messenger  is  apparently  held 
in  suspense  in  the  writer's  mind,  for  presently  come  the 
words,  quaesisse  se.  Gertz  suggests,  nuntiat  Hora  lovi 
(recalling  that  ex  Iliade  scire  potuit  \scriptor\  Horas  Olympi 
ianitrices  esse),  and  Wachsmuth  conjectures  nuntiat  {ianit-) 
or,  which  would  both  avoid  this  difficulty  and  help  to  explain 
omnes  at  the  end  of  c.  6.  The  suggestion  is  ingenious,  but 
the  hypothesis  of  careless  composition  is  elsewhere  so  well 
supported  that  it  would  seem  to  suffice  here. 

venisse  quendam  bonae  staturae,  etc. :  Suetonius  (c.  30) 
describes  Claudius's  personal  appearance  :  auctoritas  dignitas- 
que  forrnae  non  defuit  .  .  .  praeciptie  quiescenti ;  na^n  et 
prolixo  nee  exili  cor  pore  erat.  Scheffer  enterprisingly  tries 
to  find  a  hit  even  in  the  bonae  staturae,  for,  as  Aristotle  says, 
those  who  are  large  are  likely  to  be  slow. 

bene  canum:  Cf.  Suet,  ibid:  canitieque  pulchra.  Note 
the  use  oibene  in  the  sense  of  valde ;  see  Introd.  p.  69. 

ilium  minari,  assidue  enim  caput  movere :  Suet.  30,  fin., 
caput  cum  semper,  turn  in  quantulocujnqtie  actu  vel  7}iaxime 
tremulufn.  Dio,  Ix.  2 :  i/oo-wSr;?,  aicrrc  koI  tyj  KecjyaXrj  .  .  . 
vTroTpifjiELv.  Compare  Cassius's  comment  on  Caesar's  ague 
(Shakesp.  /ul.  Caes.  i.  2) :  "  'Tis  true,  this  god  did  shake." 
It  seems  to  have  depended  on  circumstances  whether  caput 
movere  was  a  sign  of  menace  or  of  assent.  Mahly,  however, 
objecting  to  the  word  in  the  former  sense,  proposed  j/ieditari. 


c.  5.]  NOTES  175 

pedem  dextnim  trahere :  Cf.  Suet.  30 :  ingredientern  desti- 
tuebant  poplites  ?ninus  Jirmi.  Cf.  c.  i,  noji  passibus  aequis ; 
also  Suet.  21  :  non  sine  foeda  vacillatione  discurrens^  with 
possibly  a  similar  reference.  Scheffer  observes  that  Claudius 
failed  to  put  his  right  foot  first ;  cf.  Petron.  30,  dextro  pede. 

quaesisse  se  :    See  note  on  7itmtiatur. 

perturbato  sono  et  voce  confusa :  Cf.  Suet.  CI.  4,  in 
Augustus's  letter  on  Claudius,  already  quoted,  qui  tain  acrac^ais 
loqiiatur^  etc.  So  ibid.  c.  30,  linguae  titiibantia^  and  Dio, 
Ix.  2 :  Kat  TO)  <j)0)vyfJuxTL  iaffxiWeTo.  Cf.  infra :  voceni  impli- 
catatn  ;  c.  6,  quid  dicer  et  nemo  intellegebat ;  c.  7,  profaiu  vocis 
incerto ;  c.  10,  tria  verba  cito  die  at,  etc. 

non  intellegere  se  linguam  eius  :  Cf.  ibid. ;  also  Petron.  73  : 
cantica  lacerare^  sicut  illi  dicebant  qui  linguam  eius  intellege- 
bant. 

Herculem  qui :  So  the  St.  Gall  and  one  of  the  Paris  codices. 
Most  of  the  MSS.  have  quia.  Hercules  appears  in  his  very 
proper  function  of  ake^LKaK<y;.  Cf.  Lucian,  Alex.  4 :  dAcf iVaKc 
'HpaKAets  Kat  Zev  OLTrorpoTrcue  koI  Aidaxov/oot  (TtoTTJpeSy  ttoAc- 
fiLOLs  Kol  ixOpoLS  ivTVx^'^v  ycvoLTo  Kol  firj  <Tvyy€V€aO(u    TOtovro) 

TLVL. 

quorum  hominum :  i.e.  cuius  nationis. 

sane  perturbatus :  Note  the  colloquial  adverb  and  the  dif- 
ference between  it  and  bene  above. 

ut  qui  etiam  non  omnia  monstra  timuerit :  This  is  the  MS. 
reading,  retained  in  the  texts  of  Schusler  and  Biicheler's  editio 
minor y  but  which  nearly  all  the  earlier  editors  thought  it 
necessary  to  emend,  even  BUcheler,  in  his  edition  of  1864, 
changing  ti?nuerii  to  sustinuerit :  i.e.  Hercules  had  not  yet 
withstood  all  monsters.  Similarly  Fickert  and  Lindemann, 
following  Nic.  Faber  and  Lipsius,  give  do??iuerit.  Ruhkopf 
and  Holze  give  non  itmonia  monstra  timuerit,  the  iunonia 
being  from  the  reading  of  Gronovius ;  i.e.  but  possibly  Her- 
cules did  fear  this  new  monster.  With  a  similar  idea  Baeh- 
rens  suggests :  tit  qtii  victa  non  omnia  monstra  timtierit. 
Haase   reverses   the  structure ;    ut  quern  etiam  non  omnia 


176  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  5. 

monstra  timtierint,  here  being  one  which  did  not.  Others 
make  various  combinations.  Schmidt  defends  the  ms. 
reading,  but  understands  timuerit  in  the  special  sense  of 
pugnaverit,  citing  from  Seneca's  Hercules  to  sustain  this 
interpretation. 

All  these  efforts  are  unnecessary.  Ut  qui  introducing  a 
concessive  clause  is  good  Latin ;  cf.  e.g.  Livy,  xxxix.  43,  i : 
.  .  .  Valerius  Antias^  ut  qui  nee  orationem  .  .  .  legisset,  etc. 
The  apparent  difficulty  is  the  word  ornniay  which  is  really  in 
the  indefinite  sense  of  any,  supported  by  etiafn.  This  time 
Hercules  was  afraid,  even  though  he  was  reputed  to  be  (cf. 
videatur  above)  one  who  did  not  fear  all  the  monsters. 

ut  vidit  .  .  .  vacem :  zeugma. 

novi  generis  faciem:  possibly  a  hint  at  Claudius's  incon- 
siderate introduction  of  novelties ;  see  Introd.  p.  9.  Cf. 
Suet.  2  :  palliolatus,  novo  more ;  id.  14 :  novo  circa  principefn 
exemplo  .  .  .  [consul]  suffectus, 

nullius  terrestris  animalis,  etc. :  Cf.  Jul.  Caes.  4,  Silenus 
(on  the  entrance  of  Augustus),  /SajSal,  l<\>7j,  tov  iravro^airov 
TOVTOV  Orjpiov. 

putavit  sibi  tertium  decimum  laborem  venisse :  the  twelve 
labors  of  Hercules  being  one  of  the  most  familiar  of  mytho- 
logical allusions.  Cf.  Petron.  48,  numquid  duodecim  aerum- 
nas  Herculis  tenes?  His  comic  dread  of  further  trouble 
has  occasioned  the  efforts  of  some  of  the  emenders  of  the 
passage  ut  qui  .  .  .  timuerit  above. 

facillimum  .  .  .  Graeculo:  Ruhkopf  thinks  this  refers  to 
Claudius  :  i.e.  the  verse  from  Homer  was  easy  for  him  to  under- 
stand. It  is  better  to  refer  the  jocular  diminutive  to  Her- 
cules, which  gives  facillimum  a  more  direct  reference  to 
ait.  Juvenal's  passage  {Sat.  iii.  77)  on  the  Greek  parasite, 
Omnia  novit  Graectdus  esuriens ;  in  caehun  iniseris,  ibit, 
is  accidentally  apt.     Cf.  id.  Sat.  iii.  100:  natio  comoeda  est. 

tCs  'tr60€v,  etc. :  from  Homer,  Od.  i.  170.  Ruhkopf  and 
some  of  the  early  editors  omit  i^Se  ro/c^e?  and  end  the 
quotation  with  TrroAts.    The  verse  is  notable  as  being  the 


c.  5.]  NOTES  177 

one  successful  guess  of  Beatus  Rhenanus  in  his  attempts  to 
conjecture  the  missing  Greek  quotations  in  his  first  edition 
of  the  Ludus.  So  much  of  it  is  also  suggestively  used  in  a 
Greek  epigram  by  Marcus  Argentarius,  which  would  have 
been  accessible  to  Rhenanus  in  the  anthology  of  Planudes 
(vii.  95),  and  is  found  in  the  Anthologia  Palatina,  v.  112 
(ed.  Teub.)  : 

OvK€T  ipa  '  A.t/i,os  (fidpfJuiKOv  OLOv  €xet  • 
*H  8c  7ra/30s  ore  KaXtvcra  fxvpov  koL  Tep7rvov''AS(ji)VLV 

M.r)VO<f>LXaj  vvv  (tov  rovvofxa  irvvBavtrai. 
Tts  TToOev  CIS  avhpuiv ;  iroOt  tol  ttoXi?  ;  rj  fioXt^  lyvoj? 

TOVT    €7r09,  0)5  Ov8ctS  OvScV  IxOVTt  <^tXoS. 

Lipsius  in  the  Somm'um  (c.  3)  uses  the  verse  in  the  same 
way  that  we  find  it  in  the  Apocolocyyitosis . 

Claudius  gaudet  esse  illic  philologos  homines :  In  Seneca's 
mind  this  word  apparently  had  no  very  favorable  color.  For 
its  meaning,  cf.  his  Ep.  108,  24  and  30,  on  the  kind  of  com- 
mentary a  philologiis  would  make  on  Cicero's  De  Re  Publica. 
He  was  a  species  of  antiquarian,  a  person  jnultiplici  variaque 
doctrina  (Suet.  Gramm.  10).  On  the  habit  of  using  Greek 
quotations,  cf.  Cic.  de  Off.  i.  31, 1 1 1 :  [uf\  sermone  eo  debemus 
utt,  qui  innat7is  est  nobis^  ne,  ut  qtcidam  Graeca  iftculcantesj 
iure  Optimo  rideamtir.  So  also  Horace  on  Lucilius  {Sat. 
i.  10,  20). 

historiis  suis:  Cf.  especially  Suet.  CI.  41,  42.  See  also 
Peter,  Historicorum  Romanorum  Fragrnenta^  p.  295,  where 
the  extant  quotations,  chiefly  in  Pliny's  N.  H.,  from  Claudius's 
histories  are  gathered.  He  wrote  in  Greek  twenty  books 
Tvpp-qvLKdv  and  eight  books  Kapx^^ovtaKtov,  besides,  in  Latin, 
his  two  books  beginning  post  caedem  Caesaris  dictatoris  and 
his  forty-one  a  pace  civili.  In  addition  to  these  histories 
were  the  eight  books  de  Vita  Sua,  a  defence  of  Cicero  against 
the  books  of  Asinius  GaUio,  a  work  on  the  art  of  dice-playing 
(Suet.  33),  and  one  on  the  three  letters  which  he  proposed  as 


178  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  5. 

additions  to  the  Latin  alphabet.  See  Introd.  p.  14.  On  the 
value  of  Claudius's  literary  labors,  which  the  sperat  futururn 
aliqiiem  historiis  suis  locum  implies  was  problematical,  see 
pp.  10,  13. 

et  ipse  Homerico  versu:  In  connection  with  his  fondness 
for  Greek,  and  especially  for  Homeric  quotations,  note,  be- 
sides Suet.  42,  also  his  interest  in  the  Trojan  legend  and 
remission  of  tribute  to  the  Ilienses  {id.  25,  and  Tac.  Atin. 
xii.  58)  and  his  exhibition  of  the  Troiae  lusum  (Suet.  21). 
Compare  also  Dio,  Ix.  16:  kcu  aXXa  he  ttoAAo,  koI  Trpos  eicet- 
vovs  (J-e.  the  soldiers)  koL  irpos  rrjv  ^ovXyjv  ToiovTOTpoira 
*EAA7yvt(JT6  7rape4>0lyyeTO'  wcrre  kol  yeAcora  Trapo,  rots  Svva- 
fxevoL<;  €(TTLv  d  avTiov  crvveivaL  6<f>\i(TKaveiv. 

'IXto^ev  fxe,  etc. :  Odys.  ix.  39.  The  professed  descendant 
of  Aeneas  might  poetically  claim  to  have  been  brought  among 
barbarians  (KtKovecro-t),  as  the  Romans  would  be,  from  the 
Homeric  point  of  view.  This  verse  is  parodied  in  an  epi- 
gram by  Automedon  in  the  Anthol.  Pal.  xi.  346,  where,  shortly 
after  the  supposed  inquiry,  ^rjTeLs,  ttov  ere  <t>ep(x)(n  TroSes,  comes 
the  answer  (1.  7)  : 

K-v^LKoOev  ere  (jyeptav  ave/xos  '^ap^oOpa^L  TreXacro'ev. 

TOVTO  0"€  TOV  XoLTTOV  TeppXX  /XCVCt  ^lOTOV. 

erat  .  .  .  avrov^ :  evidently  an  aside  by  the  narrator,  though 
Schusler  oddly  concludes :  ex  verbis  illis.  '  aeque  Hojnericus^ 
seque7ttem  versu?n  ipse  Claudius  etiam  adiecisse  habendus  est. 

aeque  Homericus :  As  to  the  genuineness  of  these  words  the 
critics  are  divided.  Blicheler  (ed.  of  1864  and  Rh.  Mus.  xiv. 
447)  says  they  appear  to  be  a  gloss,  and  Wachsmuth  con- 
demns them.  Baumstark  and  Schenkl  maintain  that  they  are 
genuine.  Wehle  is  unconvinced.  Blicheler,  in  his  editio 
7ninor,  leaves  them  suspecta.  There  is  reason  for  retaining 
them  as  a  part  of  Seneca's  original  expression.  Of  course, 
for  the  stating  of  facts,  they  are  tautological.  After  the  phrase, 
Homerico  versu,  sequens  versus  is  obviously  aeque  Ho7nericus. 
As  a  gloss  the  words  would  be  stupid  enough.     But  the  bal- 


c.  6.]  NOTES  179 

ance  of  emphasis  after  verior  requires  the  repetition  of  them 
in  view  of  the  grim  humor  of  the  quotation,  and  Seneca's  wit 
would  hardly  have  required  that  of  a  mediaeval  commentator 
to  supplement  it. 

6.  at  imposuerat :  On  the  colloquial  flavor  of  this  chapter 
see  the  Introd.  p.  72.  For  the  use  of  impono  in  this  mod- 
ern sense,  cf.  Petron.  102  :  utctmqtie  imponi  nihil  dor?nienti 
posset;  and  Cicero's  letters, ^^jj-/;;/. 

Herculi  minima  vafro  :  The  editio  princeps  gave  the  reading, 
Herculi  minimo  discrimine  fabulam,  which  was  followed  in 
many  subsequent  editions ;  most  of  the  inferior  manuscripts 
have  fabros  instead  of  vafro.  The  homini  which  appears 
after  Hercidi  in  Haase's  and  Schusler's  texts  is  a  conjecture 
of  Junius. 

The  gullibility  of  Hercules  is  illustrated  by  Ovid ;  cf.  Her. 
ix.  113.  The  hero  may  have  been  the  more  inclined  to  sym- 
pathy with  Claudius  since  he  himself  had  been  received  from 
earth  to  heaven.  Cf.  Ov.  Met.  ix.  254  seq.^  where  Jupiter 
explains  to  the  gods,  in  regard  to  the  immortal  portion  of 
Hercules : 

Idqite  ego  deftmctum  terra  caelestibus  oris 
Accipiain^  cundisque  meum  laetabile  factum 
Dis  fore  confido. 

Febris :  the  officially  reported  cause  of  Claudius's  death ; 
the  well-known  Roman  fever.  Cf.  Pliny,  JV.  H.  ii.  7,  15-16: 
numina  .  .  .  invejiimus^  inferis  quoque  in  genera  discriptis, 
morbisqjie  et  77iultis  etiam  pestibiis,  diim  esse  placatas  trepido 
7netu  ctipi7nus  ;  ideoque  etiatn  picblice  Febris  fafitan  in  Palatio 
dicatum  est.  So  Fever  had  been  a  neighbor  of  Claudius. 
Cf.  Cic.  de  N.  D.  iii.  25,  63;  id.  de  Leg.  ii.  11,  28:  araqiie 
stat  in  Palatio  Febris^  et  altera  Esquiliis  ;  cf.  also  Val.  Max, 
ii.  5,  6. 

ceteros  omnas  daos  Romae  reliquerat:  BUcheler  (ed.  1864) 
characterized  this  clause  as  suspicious,  not  because  the  gods 
are  presently  found  all  in  heaven  (see   Introd.   p.   67),  but 


l80  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  6. 

because  es  an  sick  matt,  ohne  alle  Spitze  ist.  One  might  find 
in  the  words,  however,  an  additional  bit  of  compliment  for 
the  new  regime  at  Rome. 

mera  mendacia  narrat :  Cf.  narro,  below,  and  see  p.  68. 

ego  tibi  dico :  Cf.  the  same  colloquial  expression  in  Plant. 
Mil.  Glor,  217;  cf .  also  Petron.  64 :  Trimalchio  '  tibi  dico ' 
inquit  .  .  .  ^  nihil  narras.''  There  is  a  similar  vulgar  emphasis 
upon  Trimalchio's  favorite  pronoun,  e.g.  in  c.  56,  in  the  repe- 
tition Q>i  ego  puto, 

tot  annis  vixi :  Note,  as  below  in  multis  annis  regnavit,  the 
ablative  of  the  time  when,  rather  than  the  accusative  of  dura- 
tion. Apparently  the  idiom  was  commoner  in  the  sermo  vul- 
garis than  in  literature.  See  Introd.  p.  72,  on  the  familiar 
plebeian  epitaph  formula ;  cf.  Petron.  57  :  annis  quadraginta 
servivi ;  also  Sen.  jE^.  108,5:  multis  .  .  .  annis  per  seder  i7it. 
On  the  effect  which  Fever's  constancy  had  had  upon  Clau- 
dius's health,  see  Suet.  2  and  31. 

Luguduni  natus  est :  So  also  says  Suet.  CI.  2 ;  Cf.  Dio  Cas. 
liv.  36.  Claudius's  mother,  Antonia,  was  following  her  hus- 
band, Drusus,  to  the  German  wars,  10  B.C.  Wachsmuth  and 
Mahly  consider  the  words  a  gloss. 

Marci  municipem  vides :  This  is  the  reading  of  the  mss., 
and  that  it  is  not  to  us  clearly  intelligible  does  not  necessarily 
condemn  it.  BUcheler,  in  his  editio  minor,  thinks  it  a  cor- 
ruption of  a  Gallic  name,  as  is  Marcomagnum,  from  /xapKav 
ecum.  Gertz  proposes  the  name  Mo?nori,  of  the  Celtic  augur 
(Mw/xo/Dos),  who  was  said  to  have  given  the  name  to  Lugu- 
dunum  (cf.  Plutarch,  de  Fluviis,  vi.  4).  BUcheler  in  his 
larger  edition  (1864)  said  that  Marci  is  quite  senseless,  and 
substituted  Planci,  after  Gronovius,  from  L.  Munatius  Plan- 
cus,  who  in  43  B.C.  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Colonia 
Claudia  Copia  A2igusta  Lugudunensis .  Ruhkopf  and  other 
modern  editors  adopted  the  conjecture  of  Rhenanus,  Munatii, 
which  is  less  probable,  as  the  founder  of  the  colony  was  com- 
monly known  as  Plancus ;  cf.  Sen.  Ep.  91,  14,  alluding  to 
the  great  fire  in  Lugudunum  [colonia']  a  Planco  deducta  .  .  . 


c.  6.]  NOTES  l8l 

quot  .  .  .  gravissimos  casus  infra  spatium  htmianae  senec- 
tutis  tulitl  See  also  Cicero's  coirespondence  with  Plancus. 
It  is  scarcely  to  be  supposed  that  Marci  is  simply  a  mistake 
of  Plancus 's  praenomen,  though  this  is  possible.  In  that  case, 
to  call  Claudius  one  of  Marcus's  citizens  would  be  an  easy 
jest.  De  Boissieu  {Inscr.  de  Lyo7t,  p.  125)  thought  that 
Mark  Antony,  the  triumvir,  is  referred  to.  He  cites  this  pas- 
sage in  connection  with  the  statement  in  Appian  (^Bel.  Civ. 
iv.)  that  Antony  had  the  government  of  Gaul  for  two  or 
three  years,  beginning  in  43  B.C.,  and  reproduces  quinarii 
struck  at  Lugudunum  by  Antony  during  that  time,  in  support 
of  the  theory  that  the  town  was  under  his  patronage,  and 
from  him  called  Marci  7Jiunicipiuin.  Turnebe's  explanation 
of  the  phrase  {Advers.  ii.  304,  i),  that  it  denoted  such  a 
kind  of  citizen  as  Cicero  was,  non  verum  germanu?nqiie, 
sed  ifiq:eili?mm,  etc.,  is  perhaps  notable  as  an  imaginative 
effort. 

quod  tibi  narro:  "That's  what  I  say."  Cf.  narro  tibi  in 
Cicero's  Letters,  ad  Attic,  i.  16,  10;  ii.  7,  2;  xiii.  51,  2. 
See  Introd.  p.  68. 

ad  sextum  decimum  lapidem  ...  a  Vienna:  There  may 
be  additional  irony  in  thus  locating  Lugudunum,  as  if  it  were 
a  suburb  of  the  rival  town.  See  Tac.  Hist.  i.  65.  Vienna, 
the  ancient  capital  of  the  Allobroges,  was  in  Claudius's  time 
a  Roman  colony  in  the  province  of  Narbonensis.  The  dis- 
tance agrees  with  that  given  in  the  Itinerariurn  Anto?iiniy 
per  compendium  XVI. 

quod  Galium  facere  oportebat :  evidently  an  allusion  to  the 
capture  by  Brennus.  Compare  the  similar  pleasantry  about  the 
Irish,  that  they  rule  every  country  but  their  own.  Claudius 
himself  recalled  (Tac.  An7i.  xi.  24),  capti  a  Gallis  sumus. 

ego  tibi  recipio :  the  reading  of  the  best  MSS.  The  editio 
princeps  and  many  of  the  later  ones  give  ego  reddo  tibi, 
Recipio  in  this  sense  is  like  the  Greek  dvaS€;^o/xat,  "  I  warrant 
you,"  I  take  the  responsibility,  a  usage  especially  frequent  in 
Cicero's  letters. 


1 82  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  6. 

ubi  Licinus :  the  reading  of  Bucheler.  Earlier  editions 
give  Licinitis,  as  in  the  mss.,  from  a  mistaken  assimilation  to 
the  Roman  gentile  name.  He  was  a  native  Gaul,  a  slave  and 
freedman  of  Julius  Caesar.  Dio  Cassius  (liv.  21)  outlines 
his  career.  By  Augustus  he  was  appointed  procurator  of 
Gallia  Lugudunensis,  where  he  acquired  great  wealth  and 
became  notorious  for  the  tyranny  with  which  he  satisfied  his 
envy  of  those  who  had  once  been  his  superiors.  Hence  the 
humorous  regnavit.  He  carried  his  ingenious  extortions  to 
the  length  of  collecting  monthly  dues  fourteen  months  in  the 
year,  reasoning  that  since  December  was  the  tenth  month,  it 
required  two  more  after  it.  When  he  learned  that  Augustus 
had  been  informed  against  him,  he  voluntarily  presented  to 
the  emperor  his  ill-gotten  gains,  which  he  said  he  had  gath- 
ered for  that  purpose,  and  so  saved  his  skin.  His  name 
became  proverbial  for  a  rich  parvenu.  Cf.  Sen.  Ep.  119,  9; 
Pers.  ii.  36 ;  Juv.  i.  109  and  306 ;  Mart.  viii.  3,  6.  The 
epitaph  by  Varro  Atacinus,  written  on  his  famous  marble 
tomb,  is  given  in  Meyer,  Anth,  Lat.  I.  Tj^  as  follows : 

Marmoreo  Licinus  ttifnulo  iacet,  at  Cato  nullOy 
Pompeius  parvo :  quis  putet  esse  deos  f 

Cf.  Macrob.  Sat.  ii.  4,  24,  on  Licinus's  contributions  to 
Augustus's  public  works,  and  the  trick  by  which  the  emperor 
doubled  one  of  them. 

tu  autem  :  Bucheler  thinks  this  is  addressed  to  Claudius, 
who  had  said  he  came  from  Ilium  rather  than  Lugudunum,  the 
plura  loca  calcasti  being  an  allusion  to  Claudius's  long  expedi- 
tions to  Britain  (Suet.  17;  Dio,  Ix.  21  ;  Pliny  N.  H.  iii.  16, 
119),  and  Claudius's  rage  a  direct  reply.  But  it  is  far  more 
natural  to  understand  Febris  as  continuing  her  talk  to 
Hercules,  the  tu  autem  marking  her  transition  from  the 
correction  of  his  mistake  to  a  direct  reproach  for  his  stupidity. 
Hercules's  wanderings  to  and  fro  in  the  earth  were  not  only 
familiar,   but    expressly   referred   to   in    c.    5.      Excandescit 


c.  6.]  NOTES  183 

hoc  loco  clearly  indicates  that  Claudius's  outburst  was  an 
interruption. 

mulio  perpetuarius  :  Note  the  formation  of  the  word.  This 
is  defined  by  Friedlander  as  meaning  one  qui  peregrinatores 
eodetn  vehiculo,  eisdein  mme7itis  quoctitique  vellettt  deportaret, 
etiafn  in  locos  remotissi7nos.  In  the  Codex  Jiistiniatms^ 
perpetuarius  is  applied  to  an  hereditary  tenant. 

Lugudunenses  scire  debes  et :  The  et^  which  appears  in  other 
MSS.,  is  lacking  in  that  of  St.  Gall.,  and  Blicheler,  omitting  it, 
brackets  Lugudunenses.  But  the  repetition  as  it  stands  is 
rhetorically  good,  and  it  is  easier  to  suppose  et  accidentally 
dropped  in  the  St.  G.  MS.  than  Lugjidunenses  accidentally, 
or  even  stupidly  as  a  gloss,  inserted  elsewhere.  For  scire  we 
should  have  expected  cognoscere,  but  the  speaker  appears,  by 
a  species  of  zeugma,  to  have  suited  his  word  to  the  follow- 
ing clause.  Gertz,  however,  proposes  the  reading,  qua?n 
ullus  mulio  perpetuarius  Lugudunensis ;  with  the  explanation 
that  Lugudunum  totius  Galliae  caput  erat,  in  media  terra 
sit  Jim,  SiOTrep  kol  ^Ayptinras  ivTcvOev  ra?  oSovs  €T€fjL€  ut  ait 
Strabo,  p.  208 ;  veri  simile  ergo  mihi  videtur  muliones 
Lugudunenses  praeter  alios  multa  et  longa  itinera  per- 
currisse. 

Xanthum  et  Rhodanum :  for  the  sites  of  Ilium  and  Lugu- 
dunum. Birt  suggests  that  here  may  be  a  play  on  the 
words :  he  ought  to  know  the  difference  between  yellow 
(fav^d?)  and  red  (Jiohayo^  from  pohov) . 

excandescit  .  .  .  irascitur :  Cf.  Suet.  CI.  30 :  ira  turpior ; 
ibid.  38  :  irae  atque  iraanidiae  conscius  sibi,  etc. 

quid  diceret  nemo  intellegebat :    See  Introd.  p.  6. 

Febrim  duel  iubebat:  Cf.  c.  13:  qiws  Narcissus  duci 
iusserat.  Ducere,  either  with  or  without  specification  of  the 
ter?ninus  ad  quem,  was  the  regular  legal  term  for  leading 
away  to  prison  or  execution.     See  Lexicon. 

gestu  solutae  manus :  "  limp " ;  not  strictly  comparable 
Xo  pollice  verso  (Juv.  iii.  36).  On  Claudius's  trembling  hands, 
cf.   Dio,   Ix.   2.     Compare   also    Pallas's    odious   fashion   of 


1 84  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  6. 

giving  commands  nutu  aut  niami  ,  ,  ,  ne  vocem  consociaret 
(Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  23). 

decollare :  properly,  to  remove  (a  burden)  from  the  neck. 
For  its  first  use  in  the  sense  of  "  behead  "  by  Fenestella,  cf. 
Diomedes's  explanation  (Keil.  G.L.  I.  p.  365)  :  Veteres  aute7n 
securi  caesos  dicebant.  The  usage  appears  to  be  colloquial. 
Cf.  Petron.  51 ;  also  Suet.  Cal.  32,  miles  decollandi  artifex; 
Sen.  de  Ira,  iii.  18,  4,  on  Caligula's  cruelty  so  great  ut  .  .  ,  ad 
lucernam  decollaret.  On  Claudius's  taste  for  this  sort  of 
thing,  cf.  Suet.  34. 

putares  onmes :  No  others  than  Febris  and  Hercules  have 
been  mentioned ;  see  Introd.  p.  67,  and  note  on  7iu?itiatur. 

adeo  ilium  nemo  curabat :  as  he  had  often  been  snubbed 
before.     On  his  subservience  to  his  freedmen,  Introd.  p.  11. 

7.  tu  desine:  Note  the  colloquial  insistence  upon  the 
pronoun. 

fatuari :  to  talk  nonsense ;  from  fatuus,  a  fool ;  as  accord- 
ing to  the  Graeco-Latin  glossaries,  /xwpacWtv;  but  with  per- 
haps a  punning  allusion  to  the  other  sense  of  the  word,  to 
talk  oracularly,  like  Fatuus  the  inspired  Faunus ;  i.e.  drop 
your  incomprehensible  tone  and  come  down  to  facts,  hard 
facts,  as  the  following  indicates. 

ubi  mures  f errum  rodunt :  This  seems  calculated  to  impress 
the  timid  Claudius  with  the  strenuousness  of  life  in  the  region 
to  which  he  has  come.  Otto,  however,  interprets  the  proverb, 
which  does  not  elsewhere  occur,  as  a  particular  reference  to 
mice  getting  their  heads  into  the  trap,  and  compares  the  Greek 
saying,  apri  /jlvs  ttltttj^  yeverat,  Demosth.  12 15,  10  (Reiske's 
pp.  in  Oratt.  Attici.^\  cf.  Theocr.  xiv.  51;  i.e.  "now, 
Claudius,  you  have  walked  into  a  place  where  you  will  get 
caught."  Blicheler  cites  from  Pliny  an  instance  in  which 
mice  once  ate  iron  {N.  H.  viii.  57,  222,  ed.  Teub.). 

ne  tibi  alogias  excutiam  :  like  similar  vulgar  threats  in  Eng- 
lish. Alogias,  a  plebeian  Grecism;  see  Introd.  p.  69.  Cf. 
Petron.  58,  in  Hermeros's  angry  tirade,  non  didici geofuetrias^ 
criticuj  et  alogias  rnenias. 


c.  7.]  NOTES  185 

tragicus  fit :  The  suggestion  of  sham  recalls  Dionysus's  im- 
personation of  Heracles  in  the  Frogs.  Hercules  was  always 
dramatic.     Here  he  strikes  an  attitude,  and  declaims. 

cluas :  the  Greek  kAvco  ;  in  Latin  more  commonly  of  the 
second  conjugation,  but  not  thoroughly  classical ;  chiefly  used 
by  Plautus  and  Lucretius.  It  contributes  here  intentionally 
to  the  artificial  effect. 

stipite  clava :  Hercules's  well-known  weapon. 

profatu  vocis  incerto:  Claudius  apparently  mumbles  an 
interruption. 

mobile  .  .  .  caput :  Cf.  caput  mover e^  c.  5. 

regna  tergemini  .  .  .  regis :  Geryon,  whose  cattle,  accord- 
ing to  the  familiar  story,  Hercules  drove  to  Argos  {/nachia 
urbs)  by  way  of  Gaul. 

duobus  imminens  fluviis  iugum:  Seneca,  in  his  letter  to 
Lucilius  (91)  on  the  burning  of  Lugudunum,  also  mentions 
the  location  of  the  town  on  a  hill.  Cf.  de  Boissieu,  Inscrip- 
tions de  Lyon,  p.  126,  on  the  site. 

Ararque  dubitans,  quo  suos  cursus  agat,  etc. :  Cf.  Caes.  B.  G. 
i.  12  :  Fluinen  est  Arar,  quod  .  .  ,  in  Rhodanum  influit  incredi- 
bili  lenitate,  ita  ut  oculiSj  in  utrafn  partem  fluat,  iudicari  non 
possit.  Cf.  Plin.  N.  H.  iii.  4  (5),  33 :  Araris  .  .  .  praeia- 
centibus  stagnis. 

haec  satis  animose  et  fortiter ;  nihilo  minus,  etc. :  Schusler 
quotes  Sen.  de  Ira,  i.  20 ;  Non  est  quod  credas  irascentium 
verbis,  quorum  strepitus  magni,  minaces  sunt,  intra  mens 
pavidissi?na. 

mentis  suae  non  est :  Hercules  was  bluffing ;  his  manner  did 
not  "accuse"  his  mind.  Mentis  is  subjective  genitive.  It  is  in 
a  different  sense  that  we  say,  "  It  was  not  to  his  mind."  Con- 
trast also  the  same  expression  in  Cic.  Pison.  21,  mentis  suae 
esse,  where  it  is  like  mentis  cofnpotem  esse.  With  Hercules's 
anxiety  compare  that  of  Silenus,  Jul.  Caes.  4,  tl  itot  apa 
SeLvov  i7/xa9  c/ayao-erat ; 

^copov  ttXtj^-^v  :  an  easy  parody.  In  Greek  tragedy,  a  Oeov 
irXrjyrj  was  proverbial  for  an  unexpected  stroke  of  irrespon- 


1 86  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  7. 

sible  destiny.  Cf.  e.g.  Soph.  Ajax^  278 :  SeSotKa  /xt)  'k  ^eov 
irXrjyrj  rts  lyKa.  In  the  present  instance  the  irresponsibiUty 
is  that  of  a  crazy  man.  Note  the  same  substitution  of  /xcopov 
for  Beov  at  the  end  of  c.  8. 

virum  valentem :  The  use  of  participles  in  -ns  as  attributive 
adjectives  marks  a  certain  plebeian  tendency  in  the  language. 
The  phrase  has  been  objected  to  (by  G.  D.  Koeler,  t.  Ruh- 
kopf),  but  it  easily  justifies  itself  by  the  comic  effect  which  it 
doubtless  had  to  a  Roman  ear,  somewhat  as  "strong  man" 
has  occasionally  in  our  vernacular. 

oblitus  nugarum :  recalling  desine  fatuari  and  ne  .  .  .  alo- 
gias  excutiam.  Note  the  same  popular  expression,  quite  as 
we  say  "forgetting  his  nonsense,"  inPetron.  71  and  136.  Cf. 
Jul.  Cues.  4,  Travorat,  etTTCv,  A^ypcoi/,  6  AttoXAcdv. 

gallum  in  suo  sterquilino  plurimum  posse  :  evidently  a  popu- 
lar saw,  recalling  our  proverbial  "cock  of  the  walk."  The 
play  on  Claudius's  Gallic  origin  is  obvious.  The  same  pun 
appeared  also  at  the  time  of  the  Gallic  insurrection  under 
Nero,  Gallos  eum  cantando  excitasse.  Cf.  quod  Gallum  facere 
oportebat,  c.  6. 

fortissime  deorum :  Cf.  v aide  for tis  licet  tibi  videaris,  infr. 

adfuturum :  used  particularly  of  advocates  and  witnesses. 
Cf.  Pliny,  Ep.  iv.  17. 

notorem:  a  late  word  for  the  more  exact  cognitor.  It  is 
practically  defined  by  Seneca  {Ep.  39,  i),  qui  notorem  dat 
ignotus  est.  Cf.  Petron.  92  :  at  ego  ne  mea  quidem  vesti- 
menta  .  .  .  recepissem^  nisi  notorem,  dedissem. 

tibi  ante  templum  tuum ;  This  is  the  reading  of  the  mss. 
Bucheler  ingeniously  emends,  changing  tibi  to  Tiburi  on  ac- 
count of  Suet.  Aug.  72  :  [Augustus']  frequentavit . . .  Tibur,  ubi 
etiam  in  porticibus  Her  cutis  templi  persaepe  ius  dixit ;  for,  as 
he  says,  there  was  no  temple  of  Hercules  in  Rome  where  the 
emperor  would  have  been  likely  to  hold  court.  But,  lacking 
other  evidence,  I  have  preferred  the  manuscript  reading  tibi, 
which,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  does  not  exclude  the  supposition 
that  it  was  Hercules's  temple  at  Tibur  to  which  Claudius  was 


c.  70  NOTES  187 

referring.  Wherever  it  was,  Hercules  would  know,  and  so 
would  the  Roman  public,  without  the  local  name.  There  is 
no  objection  to  the  colloquial  repetition,  tibi  .  .  .  tuum ;  and,  as 
Tyrrell  says  (ed.  Cic.  EpzsL  Vol.  I.  p.  62),  the  use  of  the  ethi- 
cal dative  was  especially  common  in  Cicero's  epistles  and  the 
comic  poets,  the  great  repositories  of  colloquial  usage. 

ius  dicebam  totis  diebus  manse  lulio  et  Augusto :  On  Clau- 
dius's exaggerated  faithfulness  to  this  duty,  see  Introd.  p.  9. 
Cf.  c.  12,  guts  nunc  iudex^  etc. ;  Suet.  CI.  14;  Dio  Cas.  Ix.  4, 
etc.  July  was  the  regular  month  for  vacation  from  court  ses- 
sions (note  mense  instead  of  mensibiis,  showing  that  the  two 
months  are  separately  considered),  and  the  calendar  shows 
many  holidays  for  August.  Cf.  Phny,  Ep.  viii.  21,  2:  mense 
lulio  quo  tnaxi^jte  lites  interquiescunt.  Claudius  even  held 
court,  according  to  Dio,  Ix.  5,  on  the  day  of  his  daughter's 
betrothal.  The  peculiarities  by  which  he  distinguished  his 
magistracy  were  no  less  likely  to  be  thought  of.  Cf.  Suet.  1 5, 
etc.  Among  them,  that  he  was  more  inclined  to  be  lax  in 
winter  time  is  shown  by  Suet.  Galba,  14 :  ludicibtis  .  .  .  con- 
cessum  a  Claudio  beneficmm  ne  hieme  initioqtte  anni  ad  iudi- 
candum  evocarentur,  en'puit  Galba.  Note  the  case  of  totis 
diebus^  although  the  chief  idea  is  of  duration,  as  in  tot  annis 
vixi  (c.  6),  etc. 

miseriarum :  perhaps  referring  to  the  insults  to  which  he 
exposed  himself  (cf.  Suet.  15),  and  the  weariness  which  some- 
times made  him  go  to  sleep  in  court  {id.  33),  or  perhaps  to 
the  woes  to  which  he  had  to  listen. 

contulerim :  This  is  the  reading  of  all  the  best  manuscripts 
(St.  G.,  Val.,  Guelf.,  Paris  6630,  etc.),  but  avoided  by  nearly 
all  the  editors.  Bucheler  gives  tulerim ;  Ruhkopf,  Fickert, 
Schusler,  and  others,  pertulerifn.  Yet  co7itulerim^  though 
Schenkl  calls  it  senseless,  seems  quite  comprehensible.  The 
amassing  of  woes  in  a  law  court  is  a  common  idea.  Or  pos- 
sibly the  prefix  co7i-  here  simply  indicates  a  plebeian  compound 
without  any  special  distinction  of  meaning  from  the  simple 
verb. 


1 88  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  7. 

causidicos :  The  slur  is  surprising,  in  view  of  the  end  of 
c.  12;  but  Claudius  had  been  chiefly  their  easy  victim  rather 
than  their  friend. 

cloacas  Augeae  :  For  the  familiar  story  of  Hercules's  Augean 
labor,  the  cleansing  of  what  is  variously  described  as  bubile^ 
ovilia^  etc.,  see  Hyginus, /7Z<^.  30  ;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  299;  cf. 
Varro,  Bijnarcus^  frag.  26  (Bucheler),  from  Nonius,  p.  242 : 

Non  Hercules  potest^  qui  Augeae  egessit  Kcmpov. 

Otto  cites  Tert.  ad  Nat.  ii.  9,  plus  fimi  Augias  conferebat,  and 
the  comparison  might  be  extended  to  the  preceding  question : 
Qtiid  Ster cuius  meruit  ad  divinitatem  f 

multo  plus  ego  stercoris  exhausi :  Cortius  says  of  Xh\s,glossu- 
lam  haec  sapiunt.  But  if  it  is  a  little  too  flat  for  Seneca,  it  is 
Claudius  who  is  talking. 

sed  quoniam  volo :  Perhaps  here  Claudius  begins  the  persua- 
sion which  proved  effective  with  Hercules.  The  break  which 
follows  in  the  mss.,  if  due,  as  is  supposed,  to  the  loss  of  even 
only  one  leaf  from  the  archetype  from  which  they  are  all  de- 
rived, would  seem  to  have  included  in  the  gap  more  incidents 
than  have  been  suggested  in  the  various  attempts  to  fill  it. 

8.  non  minim,  quod  impetum  in  curiam  fecisti:  The 
changed  situation  indicates  at  least  something  of  what  must 
have  intervened.  These  words  are  evidently  spoken  by  one 
of  the  members  of  the  Olympian  senate  (cf.  c.  9,  /«//.),  which 
seems  to  be  organized  after  the  pattern  of  that  at  Rome.  They 
are  addressed  presumably  to  Hercules,  whom  Claudius  has 
succeeded  in  inducing  to  be  his  notor  and  advocate.  The 
unsophisticated  champion  has  brought  his  prot^g^  into  the 
curia^  and  stated  his  desire  that  he  be  admitted  to  the  celes- 
tial fellowship.  He  is  met  with  some  unparliamentary  re- 
proaches, the  beginning  of  which  we  have  lost. 

nihil  tibi  clausi  est :  Stahr  suggests  that  this  is  a  playful 
hint  at  Hercules's  violent  entrance  into  the  under  world. 
Note  the  use  of  the  partitive  genitive  as  predicate,  and  its 
oddly  quantitative  eflfect. 


c.  8.]    *  NOTES  189 

'EiriKovp€ios  0€6s  non  potest  esse :  oUtc  avros  irpd^jjia  €%y.  tv 
ovT€  aXXois  •irap^x*''  •  Bucheler  reads  .  .  .  irpa.yyjo.T  l^et  ovtc 
KT€.  The  reading  here  given,  which  is  also  that  of  Haase, 
involves  a  slighter  change  from  the  St.  Gall  text,  which  has 
TT/aay/xa  c;(terovT€  ktI.  The  Val.  reading  seems  to  confirm 
this  position  of  rt.  With  ovrc  avrbsy  etc.,  a  relative  is  to  be 
understood,  though  6s  need  not  be  inserted  into  the  text  as  it 
was  by  Fromond  and  others  following.  Mahly  proposes  to 
insert  yap  instead,  apparently  forgetting,  since  avros  would 
refer  to  Claudius,  what  sort  of  a  person  an  Epicurean  god  was. 
This  definition  resembles  the  phraseology  of  Diog.  Laert.  x. 
139 :  TO  fj/iKaptov  Koi  a(l>0apTOV  ovre  avro  irpayfxa.  tl  Ixti  ovrt 
aAAo)  7rap€)(€L.  So  also  is  the  sententia  of  Epicurtis  given  by 
Cicero  {de  iV.  Z?.  i.  17,  45)  :  Quod  beatum  aeternumque  sit,  id 
nee  habere  ipsu?n  negotii  qtiicquam  nee  exhibere  alteri.  Qi. 
id.  de  Off.  iii.  28 :  eorum  .  .  .  qui  demn  nihil  habere  ipsum 
negotii  dicunt,  et  nihil  exhibere  alteri,  Cf.  also  Sen.  de  Brev. 
Vit,  xiv.  2 :  Licet  .  .  .  cum  Epicuro  quiescere.  Claudius 
would  be  excluded  on  either  count ;  cf.  c.  3,  cum  anima  lucta- 
tur,  while  that  he  had  been  a  bother  to  others  Augustus  was  a 
witness.  Lipsius's  Somnium,  c.  15,  quotes  this  same  defini- 
tion of  an  'E7riKov/3cto5  OcoS' 

'  rotundus '  .  .  .  ut  ait  Varro,  *  sine  capite,  sine  praeputio ' : 
supposably  from  one  of  Varro's  Saturae  Menippeae ;  Schenkl 
suggests  the  Fvcu^t  aeavrov.  The  words  would  fit  the  iambic 
senarius.  For  a  dignified  outline  of  the  Stoic  conception  of 
God,  cf.  Cic.  de  AT.  D,  i.  15,  39.  The  word  rotundus  (cf. 
ibid.  i.  8,  18)  was  an  effort  to  make  it  objective,  which  some- 
times resulted  in  a  joke.  Compare  Seneca  on  the  question, 
an  virtutes  animalia  sint  {Ep.  113,  22):  si  rotundam 
\Jigurani\  illis  qualem  deo  dederint  \quidam'\  . . .  The  added 
detail  in  Varro^s  description,  Bucheler  suggests,  is  a  playful 
allusion  to  the  form  of  the  roadside  Hermae,  simple  column^ 
except  for  the  members  named.  Note  the  hybrid  word  prae- 
putio.    See  Introd.  p.  69. 


I  go  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  8. 

nee  cor  nee  eaput  habet :  referring  doubtless  to  his  oblivio  et 
inconsiderantia?n  (Suet.  39).  So  he  is  referred  to  in  Julian's 
Caesares,  c.  6 :  tdTL  yap  cKetVcov  [i.e.  libertoru7n\  8t;(a  tovtX 
T^S  TpayiiiStas  to  hopv<f>6pr]pxx,  p^iKpov  Siu)  cfxivat  kol  a\j/v\ov. 
The  words  are  perhaps  a  reminiscence  of  Cato's  well-known 
gibe  at  the  Roman  embassy  sent  to  make  peace  between  Nico- 
medes  and  Prusias  (Li v.  epit.  lib.  1.),  dixit  Cato  earn  lega- 
tionem  nee  caput  nee  pedes  nee  cor  habere  (cf.  Plutarch,  MapKos 
KaTCDv)  ;  similarly  the  common  proverb  nee  caput  nee  pedes ^ 
for  neither  beginning  nor  end,  Seneca  might  have  included 
the  pedes  also,  since  Claudius,  too,  was  weak  on  his  legs.  Cf. 
Petron.  59  :  et  tu  cum  esses  capo,  cocococo,  atque  cor  non  habe- 
bas,  ibid.  63  :  non  cor  habebat,  non  intestina,  non  quicquam,  of 
the  supposititious  bundle  of  straw  left  by  the  witches  in  place 
of  a  dead  boy. 

mehercules  :  emended  in  many  of  the  editions  to  mi  Hercules. 
But  there  is  even  a  comic  aspect  of  this  careless  swearing  by 
Hercules  to  his  face. 

cuius  mensem  toto  anno  eelebravit  Saturnalicius  princeps : 
Saturnalicius  is  BUcheler's  reading,  after  Junius's  Saturnali- 
tiusy  from  the  MS.  Saturnalia  eius,  which  Lipsius  and  others 
condemned  as  a  gloss.     Schusler  ejects  2X^0  princeps. 

It  is,  as  we  should  say,  this  Lord  of  Misrule.  Cf.  c.  12. 
Dicebam  vobis,  non  semper  Saturnalia  erunt.  Recall  Tibe- 
rius's  contemptuous  gift  to  Claudius  in  his  earlier  days,  of 
forty  aureiy  in  Saturnalia  et  Sigillaria  (Suet.  CI.  5).  With 
reference  to  his  fondness  for  feasting,  cf.  ibid.  32,  33. 
Seneca  begins  his  i8th  epistle:  December  est  mensis,  cum 
.  .  .  ingenti  apparatu  sonant  omnia,  taiiiquatn  quicquam 
inter  Saturnalia  intersit  et  dies  rerum  agendarum :  adeo 
nihil  interest  ut  {non)  videatur  mihi  errasse,  qui  dixit 
olifn  fnensem  Decembrem  fuisse,  nunc  aimuin ;  a  noteworthy 
parallel  from  the  same  author.  Cf.  Petron.  44 :  .  .  .  semper 
Saturnalia  agunt.  Also  ibid.  58,  where  a  boy  is  charged 
with  misbehavior :  io  Sattirnalia,  rogo,  7nensis  December  est  f 
Cf.  Dio  Cas.  Ix.  19,  where  the  mutinous  soldiers  of  A.  Plau- 


c.  8.]  NOTES  191 

tius  responded  with  the  same  cry,  'lo)  2aT0i>pvaA.ta,  to  the 
speech  of  Narcissus. 

nedum  ab  love,  etc. :  according  to  the  emendation  of  Grono- 
vius.  A  reading  involving  less  change  from  the  MS.,  and 
nearly  like  that  of  Ruhkopf,  would  be:  si  tnehercules  a 
Satiirno  petisse{s)  (for  the  MS.  /.)  hoc  beneficiiim,  cuius 
mense{m)  toto  (ms.  in  toto)  anno  celebravit  {Saturnalia  eius 
being  regarded  as  a  gloss)  princeps,  non  tulisset  {i.e.  Saturnus, 
as  mediator)  ilium  deum  ab  love^  q^iem  (ms.  iovem,  qui^  a 
simple  metathesis)  quantu?n,  etc.  Addressed  to  Hercules 
this  would  be  entirely  consistent,  but  it  perhaps  involves  too 
complex  a  transaction  to  be  quite  plausible.  As  to  Satur- 
nalia eius,  with  the  text  having  ?nense  instead  of  fnefisemy 
the  insertion  of  these  words  to  supply  an  apparentiy  missing 
object  for  celebravit  would  be  not  unnatural.  But  Saturnali- 
cius  is  quite  in  the  spirit  of  the  passage. 

damnavit  incesti:  by  implication,  for  Jove  was  guilty 
of  what  Silanus  was  charged  with.  Recall  the  familiar 
designation  of  Juno  (^Aen.  i.  46),  lovisqtu  et  soror  et 
coniunx. 

Silanum  enim  generum  suum :  L.  lunius  Silanus  Torquatus 
was  betrothed  to  Claudius's  daughter  Octavia;  the  charge 
of  incest  was  trumped  up  against  him  by  Vitellius  the  censor, 
and  received  with  easy  suspicion  by  Claudius.  For  his  history, 
see  note,  c.  10. 

propterea  quod :  This  is  BUcheler's  reading  {editio  ?ninor), 
and  on  the  whole  it  seems  the  most  satisfactory,  as  well  as 
an  ingenious  adaptation.  The  best  MSS.  texts  have  oro  per 
quod,  which  Blicheler  in  his  edition  of  1864  gave  with  the 
indication  of  a  break  between  per  and  qtwd,  as  was  done  by 
Nic.  Faber.  Rhenanus  suggested  eo  quod.  The  reading 
common  to  most  of  the  editions  after  Lipsius  is  oro  propter 
quidf  Oro  per  quidf  has  been  suggested  by  Schenkl; 
by  Haupt,  propter  quid  without  oro.  But  forms  of  qui  as  an 
interrogative  substantive  are  not  uncommon,  and  it  does  not 
seem  quite  impossible  that  even  so  rude  a  phrase  as  the  oro 


192  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  8. 

per  quod  of  the  mss.  may  have  been  familiar  in  the  brevities 
of  vulgar  colloquy. 

sororem  suam  festivissimam  omnium  puellarum:  lunia 
Calvina,  as  Tacitus  says  (^Ann.  xii.  4),  was  sane  decora  et 
procax.  Apparently  by  some  imprudence  she  gave  her 
accusers  their  pretext.  At  Silanus's  death  she  was  exiled 
from  Italy.  Cf.  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  8.  In  Racine's  play  of 
Britannicus  she  figures  as  amante  de  Britannicus. 

Venerem :  evidently  because  she  was  so  charming.  Silanus, 
it  is  alleged,  preferred  to  have  her  in  the  double  relation  of 
Juno.     Cf.  Sen.  Octavia,  219-221,  Nuirix  Octaviae: 

Tu  quoqiie  terris 
Altera  luno  soror  Augusti 
Coniuxque. 

quare,  inquis :  Bucheler  reads  inquit.  It  seems  to  me  that 
in  the  mutilated  state  of  the  text,  at  least,  it  makes  the  para- 
graph more  simple  and  intelligible  to  put  it  all  into  the 
mouth  of  one  objector,  than  to  suppose  inquit  without  any 
indication  of  the  subject.  The  question,  quare  .  .  .  sororem 
suam^  by  blaming  Silanus  implies  the  justification  of  Claudius. 

quaero :  Cf.  the  frequent  colloquial  insertion  of  rogo^  like 
our  ^'  say  ! "  in  Petronius ;  eg.  55  and  58. 

stulte,  stude :  This  is  included  by  Otto  in  his  Sprichworter 
as  having  a  proverbial  color. 

Athenis :  Cimon's  marriage  with  Elpinice  is  the  familiar 
example  of  marriage  with  a  half-sister  {soror  germana,  of  the 
same  father). 

Alexandriae :  as  in  the  marriages  of  the  Ptolemies,  brother 
and  sister. 

"  quia  Romae,"  inquis :  The  interruption  is  presumably  by 
the  same  defender  of  Claudius  as  before.  Some  have  thought 
it  to  be  Claudius  himself  Bucheler  takes  this  qzda,  etc.,  as 
a  direct  return  to  Hercules's  main  contention,  a  reason  why 
Claudius  should  be  received  as  a  god ;  i.e.  that  he  had  got 
things  in  Rome  into  such  fine  order  that  he  would  be  an 


c.  8.]  NOTES  193 

effective  addition  to  heavenly  society.  It  seems  better,  how- 
ever, to  relate  the  words  to  those  more  immediately  going 
before,  indicating  the  contrast  between  Rome  and  the  other 
cities  whose  moral  standards  have  been  cited. 

mures  molas  lingunt :  This  has  the  air  of  a  proverb,  but 
as  to  its  meaning  the  critics  are  by  no  means  agreed.  Some 
think  it  sets  forth  the  wickedness  of  Rome ;  others  that  it 
indicates  quite  the  contrary.  Molas  probably  refers  to  the 
consecrated  sacrificial  meal. 

Rhenanus  took  the  sentence  to  refer  to  the  mollities  of  the 
Romans  :  bad  as  they  were,  they  were  discriminating  in  their 
vices,  as  the  mice  would  only  eat  the  most  select  article. 
Fromond  took  it  as  a  jest  at  the  severities  of  Claudius's 
censorship.  Neubur  emended  the  passage  altogether,  making 
* atqui  Roma7iV  inqiiit  Claudius  'mores  nos  obligant,'' -which. 
makes  very  good  sense,  but  dodges  the  difficulty.  Guasco 
thought  the  remark  might  mean  that  at  Rome  the  worship  of 
the  gods  is  so  deserted  that  the  mice  get  at  the  consecrated 
meal.  Schusler  took  it  to  imply  that  Claudius  showed  the 
same  arrogance  in  claiming  the  right  to  correct  the  morals  of 
Olympus,  that  the  mice  did  in  eating  molas  nobis  destinatas, 
BUcheler's  interpretation  has  already  been  given.  Stahr 
thought  that  ?nolas  means  the  fruit  mentioned  by  Pliny  in 
his  JVat.  Hist.  (vii.  15,  63,  and  x.  64,  184)  ;  so  that  the 
sense  would  be  that  Claudius  has  stupidly  condemned  Silanus 
for  a  little  careless  joking,  while  the  most  criminal  practices 
are  in  every  corner.  This,  however,  is  not  only  far  to  seek, 
but  directly  contrary  to  the  meaning  of  the  passage. 

The  connection  shows  that  these  words  imply  a  defence  of 
Claudius,  justifying  the  condemnation  of  Silanus,  since  the 
thing  which  was  half  allowed  at  Athens,  and  wholly  so  at 
Alexandria,  is  at  Rome  not  permissible  at  all.  Mice  and 
men  are  so  finically  careful  at  Rome  (as  Develay  translates 
it,  les  souris  vivent  de  gdteaux),  that  Claudius  had  to  apply  a 
strict  standard.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  meaning 
turns  upon  the  more  commonly  known  propensity  of  mice, 
o 


194  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  8. 

Cf.  Plaut.  Pers.  58 :  Quasi  inures  semper  edere  alienum 
cibum.  Schenkl  recalls  the  name  of  one  of  the  mice  in  the 
Batrachomyo7nachia  (29),  Aetxo/xijAr/.  On  this  supposition  the 
words  would  mean  that  Silanus,  like  a  mouse,  took  what  he 
was  not  entitled  to. 

hie  nobis  curva  corriget:  The  ms.  reading  is  corrigit ;  so 
also  the  editio  princeps^  and  early  editions  generally ;  changed 
by  Sonntag. 

These  words  seem  clearly  to  refer  to  Claudius's  censorship, 
as  also  the  preceding  ones  may.  (Cf.  Suet.  CL  16.)  Pliny 
{Ep.  V.  9,  Teub.)  quotes  a  similar  expression  in  popular 
criticism  of  a  new  praetor  who  was  overstrict :  Inveniinus  qui 
curva  corrigeret.  quid?  ante  hunc  praetor es  non  fuerunt? 
quis  auteni  hie  est,  qui  einendet  publicos  snores  ?  Bucheler 
cites  also  one  of  the  so-called  sortes  Praenestinae  {C.I.L, 
I.  1438) :  conrigi  vix  tandem  quod  curvom  est  factum 
[^]  rede. 

quid  in  cubiculo  suo  facial,  nescit :  The  ms.  reading,  nescio\ 
is  intelligible,  but  Bucheler's  nescit  is  so  slight  a  change  and 
so  much  better  that  a  principle  may  perhaps  be  sacrificed 
to  it. 

This  is  a  difficult  passage,  in  view  of  what  it  involves. 
Most  easily  it  would  seem,  as  Schusler  takes  it  to  be,  an 
allusion  to  the  fact  that  Claudius's  own  marriage  with  Agrip- 
pina  was  by  no  means  according  to  the  canons.  Recall 
Suetonius's  illustration  of  Claudius's  inconsiderantia  (id.  CL 
39)  :  ducturus  contra  fas  Agrippiitam  uxorem,  non  cessavit 
omni  oratione  filiain  et  alujnnam  et  in  grejjiio  suo  natam 
atque  educatain  praedicere.  But  such  an  allusion  would  hit 
her  almost  as  much  as  it  would  Claudius,  and  with  her  still  in 
power  Seneca  would  be  very  unlikely  to  make  it. 

Schenkl,  with  the  ms.  reading,  nescio,  took  the  words  as  a 
reference  to  Claudius's  suspected  relations  with  Julia,  his 
niece  (Dio,  Ix.  8),  who  was  driven  into  exile  by  the  jealousy 
of  Messalina.  Cortius  thought  that  the  sentence  might  refer  to 
Claudius's  body,  still  lying  dead  in  the  cubicidmn.     It  is  best, 


c.  9.]  NOTES  195 

perhaps,  mvX^ss,  faciat  be  actually  emended  to  fiat,  to  take  the 
words  in  a  very  general  sense,  referring  to  the  debaucheries 
which  he  unconsciously  encouraged.  Recall  his  command  to 
Mnester  to  do  whatever  the  empress  Messalina  wanted  him  to 
(Dio,  Ix.  22),  and  his  signing  the  tabellas  dotis  for  her  mock 
marriage  with  C.  Silius  (Suet.  CI,  29).  Cf.  Dio,  Ix.  28: 
IXvTTOvvTO  [ikv  OTL  fjLovo^  [Claudlus]  ovK  rjiria-Taro  ra  iv  ro) 
/Sao-tXcLU)  8p(i)fji€va.  Cf.  Tac.  Ann,  xi.  13 :  Claiidms  jnatri- 
tnonii  sui  ignarus,  etc. 

caeli  scrutatur  plagas :  Bucheler  puts  here  an  interroga- 
tion point ;  the  antithesis  does  not  need  it.  Cf.  Cic.  de  Rep, 
i.  18,  30,  where  is  quoted  the  verse,  with  two  others,  from 
Ennius's  Iphigenia  (Trag.  Frag.  277)  : 

Quod  est  ante  pedes  nemo  spectat,  caeli  scrutantur  plagas. 

It  had  become  proverbial ;  see  also  Cic.  de  Div,  ii.  13,  30. 
Cf.  Varro.  Menipp.  233  (Biich.  ed.),  oculis  caeli  ri?nari 
plagas, 

templum  in  Britannia:  Cf.  Tac.  Ann.  xiv.  31:  tem- 
plum  divo  Claudio  constitution  [in  Camuloduno']  gjiasi  arx 
aeternae  dominationis  aspiciebatur,  etc.  This  was  in  the 
revolt  of  Boudicca.     Cf.  Meyer,  Anthol,  Lat,  762,  3 : 

Oceanusque  tuas  ultra  se  respicit  aras. 

fjiupov  cviXdrov  ruxctv :  another  parody ;  on  wishes  that  a 
god  might  be  propitious,  cf.  fxoypov  irXriyrjvy  c,  7.  Another 
kind  of  variation  is  seen  in  Petron.  62 :  genios  vesiros  iratos 
{i.e.  instead  oi  propitios')  habeam. 

9.  privatis  intra  curiam  morantibus,  etc. :  apparently  an 
allusion  to  a  rule  of  the  Roman  senate.  The  ms.  reading, 
morantibus  sententiam  dicer e  nee  disputare^  though  perhaps 
intelligible,  taking  these  infinitives  as  subjects  of  venit,  is  far 
from  satisfactory.  Gronovius,  followed  by  Sonntag,  emended 
to  sententias  did  indignum  putare,  which  is  tautological, 
after  venit  in  mentetn.  Haupt  suggested  sententiam  dicer e 
nefas  putari,      Haase's   text  has  non  licere  inserted  after 


196  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  9. 

dicer e.  Biicheler  (ed.  1864)  adopted  the  same  addition,  but 
put  the  words  after  morantibus.  In  his  editio  7ninor  he  added 
senatoribiis,  making  senatoribus  non  licere  sententiam  dicere 
nee  disputare.  I  have  preferred  the  reading  of  Haase.  Sena- 
toribus is  quite  unnecessary,  and  the  supposable  loss  of  the 
non  licere  from  the  manuscript  in  copying  would  be  much 
more  easily  accounted  for  after  dicere^  a  word  of  similar 
ending. 

interrogare:  probably  to  interview  Hercules  informally  in 
regard  to  the  newcomer. 

mera  mapalia :  mere  stuff  and  nonsense.  The  glosses  on 
the  word  mapalia  give  KoXv^t)  ac^pwv,  casae  pastormn,  etc. 
According  to  Festus,  mapalia  casae  Punicae  appellantur  in 
quibus  quia  nihil  est  secretin  solet  solute  viventibus  obici  id 
vocabidum,  Cf.  the  "bug-house"  of  modern  thieves'  slang, 
perhaps  a  partial  parallel.  The  slangy  application  of  the 
word,  to  which  Festus  refers,  seems  to  have  extended  to 
anything  trivial.  Cf.  Petron.  58,  aut  numera  mapalia^  or 
autem  mera  mapalia,  or  according  to  a  reading  of  Heraeus, 
at  nunc  mera  mapalia :  nemo  dtipundii  evadit.  Ruhkopf, 
referring  to  the  rude  character  of  these  huts  of  the  nomad 
Africans,  compares  the  proverb,  ex  civitate  rus  fecistis ;  i.e. 
you  have  thrown  the  senate  into  disorder. 

Lipsius  parodies  the  passage  thus  {Somnium,  17)  :  Serve- 
mus  disciplinam  curiae,  .  .  .  vos  mera  ovilia  fecistis,  ita 
balatis.  On  servetis  disciplinam,  cf.  also  Lucian,  'EkkXt^o-wi 
Bt^^^v,  itiit.     See  Introd.  p.  ^6. 

hie,  qualiscumque  est :  Jove  is  impartial,  as  befits  the  pre- 
siding officer. 

quid  de  nobis  existimabit  ?  He  is  also  sensitive  to  the  repu- 
tation of  the  gods.  From  one  point  of  view,  this  question  is 
the  key  to  half  the  satire. 

illo  dimisso :  Claudius  seems  to  be  kept  within  reach,  how- 
ever, for  at  the  end  of  the  next  chapter  Augustus  addresses 
him  directly.  Schusler  understands  these  words  as  simply  re- 
ferring to  a  dismissal  from  the  conversation. 


c.  9.]  NOTES  197 

primus  interrogatur  sententiam  lanus  pater :  partly  perhaps 
in  view  of  his  character  as  god  of  openings,  but  convention- 
ally because  he  was  a  consul  designatus.  Note  also  the  re- 
tained object,  sententiam^  particularly  common  in  this  formal 
idiom,  as  in,  e.g.^  Sallust,  Cat.  50,  Silamis  primus  sententia?n 
rogatus  quod  eo  tempore  consul  designatus  erat,  and  elsewhere. 

designatus  ...  in  kal.  lulias  postmeridianus  consul ;  This 
date,  July  i,  was  a  customary  one  for  the  entering  of  coftsules 
suffecti  upon  their  office.  We  may  understand  ^^j/w^r/^/df- 
nus  of  the  second  half-year,  as  we  say  "  the  afternoon  of  life," 
or  Seneca,  of  his  old  age,  postmeridianas  horas  {Nat.  Quaest. 
iii.  praef.  3).  There  may  be  some  allusion,  as  Turnebus  sug- 
gested, to  the  business  going  on  at  that  time  of  day  ad  lanum 
in  the  Forum.  Or  the  writer  may  be  simply  making  fun  of  the 
ludicrously  short  appointments  to  honorary  consulships,  that 
were  becoming  common.  Asbach  thinks  that  certain  creatures 
of  Claudius  are  satirized,  whose  occupations  are  vaguely  hinted 
in  those  of  Janus  and  Diespiter ;  but  there  seems  insufficient 
reason  for  supposing  that  any  particular  individuals  are  aimed 
at.  We  know  from  Suet.  CI.  46,  that  Claudius  had  designated 
no  consuls  beyond  the  month  of  his  death.  As  Mommsen 
suggests  (Staatsr.  II.  p.  84,  n.  5,  ed.  3),  the  author  presum- 
ably would  have  forborne  to  represent  in  any  comic  way  the 
consuls  of  Jan.  i,  55,  of  whom  Nero  himself  was  one  and  may 
have  already  been  designated  before  Seneca^s  writing.  Apart 
from  such  prudent  avoidance,  the  satire  seems  more  general, 
with  Janus  as  an  amusing  old  fellow,  living  familiarly  in  the 
Forum  and  facing  both  ways. 

homo  quantumvis  vafer :  This  is  a  correction  by  Rhenanus, 
sanctioned  by  all  the  editors.  It  is  evidently  apt,  though  the 
reading  of  the  mss.  and  of  the  editio  princeps^  homo  quanttan 
via  suafert,  is  by  no  means  hopeless.  The  demonstrative  to 
correspond  with  quantum  is  implied  in  the  following  clause, 
so  that  it  could  be  interpreted  thus  :  "  a  person  who  so  far  as 
his  own  way  goes,  always  sees  both  forward  and  backward,'' 
but  who  has  no  provision  for  outsiders. 


198  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  9. 

&^a  irp6a-o'(i>  Kal  6irC<r<r<i) :  from  the  Iliad^  iii.  109,  where  the 
words  apply  to  Priam's  long  life,  through  which  he  could  look 
to  both  past  and  future ;  here  of  course  referring  to  the  com- 
mon two-faced  representations  of  Janus. 

quod  in  foro  vivat :  This  is  the  reading  of  the  St.  G.  ms. 
In  Biicheler's  vivebat^  the  change  of  tense  is  not  an  improve- 
ment, and  the  change  of  mood  is  not  necessary.  The  sub- 
junctive is  explainable  as  in  a  statement  made  on  the  authority 
of  the  notarius,  or  perhaps  a  reason  generally  understood. 
The  allusion  is  to  the  Arcus  lanus,  or  the  row,  perhaps,  of 
arches  on  the  north  side  of  the  Forum,  where  the  money- 
changers' business  was  centred. 

notarius :  The  early  editors  seem  to  have  been  especially  in- 
terested in  allusions  to  the  ancient  shorthand,  ftotae  Tironi- 
anae,  as  a  lost  art  not  yet  replaced.  Thus  observes  Fromond : 
ars  iam  ignota,  et  inter  eas  quas  barbaries  posterioris  aevi  no- 
bis abstulit ;  and  he  quotes  Ausonius's  epigram,  ad  notarium 
suum : 

Tu  sensa  nostri  pectoris 

Vix  dicta  iam  ceris  tenes, 

Tu  me  loquentem  praevenis ; 

Quis,  quaesOy  quis  me  prodidit  f 

The  stenographer  of  Olympus  was  perhaps  less  skilful.  Cf. 
Pliny,  Ep.  iii.  5,  15,  on  the  elder  Pliny's  habit  of  keeping  his 
notarius  always  by  his  side  in  travelling.  Seneca  himself  is 
said  to  have  devoted  considerable  attention  to  these  fiotae^ 
which  have  sometimes  even  been  called  by  his  name.  Cf.  his 
Ep.  90,  25,  verborum  notas,  quibus  qtiamvis  citata  excipitur 
oratio  et  celeritatem  linguae  manus  sequitur.  Vilissijnorujn 
mancipiorum  ista  co7nme7ita  sunt.  The  business  of  the  nota- 
rius appears  to  have  been  well-defined,  and  the  term  occurs  in 
sepulchral  inscriptions.  See  e.g.  C/.Z.  II.  3119;  III.  1938; 
VI.  9704,  9705.  Cf.  Pauly,  Realencyclopddie^  V.  s.v.  notae  and 
notarius  I  Schmitz,  Commentarii  Not  arum  Tironianarum 
(Lips.  1893). 


c.  9.]  NOTES  199 

ne  aliis  verbis  ponam :  Recall  the  writer^s  assurance  of  accu- 
racy, in  c.  I. 

olim,  inquit,  magna  res  erat  deum  fieri:  Cf.  Petron.  17: 
Nostra  regio  tarn  pr-aesentibus  plena  est  nufninibus^  ut  facilius 
possis  deum  qtiam  hominem  invenire. 

iam  famam  mimum  fecisti:  the  reading  of  the  St.  G.  ms. 
BUcheler,  with  several  other  editors,  gives  fecistis :  the  ed, 
prin . ,  fama  minimimi  fecit .  R henanus  proposed  reading  7ni- 
mum^  and  Orelli,  Schusler,  and  Haase  have/^w^  (or  Fama) 
mi7mim  fecisti,  I  suggest,  as  another  possibility,  famam 
i7na?n  fecisti.  As  the  text  stands,  the  sense  seems  clear,  re- 
calling Ter.  Eiin.  300,  Ludian  iocufnque  dicet  ftiisse  ilium 
alterum,  Cf.  the  biblical,  "  a  byword  and  a  hissing."  The 
two  words, /a:;//^  and  mimus^  occur  together  in  Hor.  6".  i.  2, 
58-59: 

Verum  est  cum.  mimis^  est  cum  meretricibus^  unde 
Fama  malum  gravius  qua?n  res  trahit, 

Qi.  Suet.  Cal.  45,  where  the  sham  triumph  of  Caligula  is  al- 
luded to  as  a  7nime. 

Were  there  any  MS.  authority  for  it,  a  plausible  reading 
would  ht  fabam  ?nimum,  for  which  BUcheler  and  Otto  cite 
Cic.  ad  Att.  i.  16:  Videsne  consulatum  ilium  nostrum^  que?n 
Curio  antea  airoOioimv  vocabat,  si  hie  f actus  erit^fabam  mi- 
mu7?i  futurum  f  Here  the  ''  Bean  mime"  would  seem  to  be  a 
title.  Cf.  Petron.  35,  de  Laserpiciario  mimo.  Note  in  this 
connection  the  proverb  quoted  by  Festus  s.v.  ta77t  (p.  363, 
ed.  M.)  :  ta77i  peril  qua77i  extre77ia  faba,  in.  pr  over  bio  est, 
quod  ea  pleru7nque  aut  proteritur  aut  decerpitur  a  praetere- 
7mtibus.  Being  a  god,  then,  according  to  this  allusion  would 
apparently  be  a  kind  of  last  resort ;  no  longer  tnagna  res. 
Cf.  Plant.  Aul.  810,  Pueri  cla7nitant  in  f aba  se  reperisse; 
also,  perhaps,  Petron.  67,  tit  tibi  emerem  fabam  vitream. 
Such  a  reading  for  the  present  passage,  however,  remains  a 
mere  conjecture. 

The  singular,  fecisti,  indicates  that  Janus  for  the  moment  is 


20O  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  9. 

addressing  an  individual,  perhaps  Hercules.  Ne  videar  in 
personam^  etc.,  implies  that  he  has  been  dealing  in  some 
personalities. 

The  ed.  prin,  gives  after  fecit  the  added  clause,  et  iam 
pestiferum  (^pessirnmn^  Erasmi  I.)  quemque  ilium  adfectare^ 
which  is  of  doubtful  syntax,  and  absent  from  the  manuscripts. 

censeo :  as  in  the  Roman  senate  it  was  customary  to  end  a 
speech  with  the  proposal  of  a  formal  resolution.  Similarly  the 
speeches  of  Diespiter  {infr.)  and  of  Augustus  (c.  11). 

dpovpT]s  Kapirov  €8ovo-iv :  from  the  Iliad,  vi.  142;  restored 
by  Rhenanus  from  MS. 

aut  ex  his  quos  alit  ^cCSupos  apovpa :  ^etSwpos  is  the  stock 
epithet  oi  apovpa  in  Homer.  Cf.  e.^.  II.  viii.  486;  Od.  vii. 
332.  Also  Hes.  Works  and  Days,  237  [235].  This  clause 
has  been  repeatedly  condemned  as  a  gloss  (by  Heinsius, 
SchefTer,  Wachsmuth),  and  Bucheler  brackets  it,  as  a  mere 
dupUcation  of  the  preceding.  But  the  ponderous  repetition 
appears  to  be  part  of  the  fun.  Ruhkopf  more  rightly  judges 
the  words  :  Tautologi  [versus"]  quidem  sunt,  sed  ob  id  ipsum 
causidico  dignissimi,  quippe  quern  repetitiones  et  ambages 
amare  constat. 

qui  contra  hoc  senatus  consultum,  etc. :  another  conven- 
tional feature  of  the  proposed  bill,  the  sanctio. 

f actus,  dictus,  pictusve :  Cf.  Pers.  vi.  62-63  *  Veniodeus  hue 
ego  ut  ille  Pingitur ;  Plaut.  Asin.  174:  neque  fictum  .  .  . 
neque  pictufn  neque  scriptum. 

Laruis :  evil  spirits,  half  ghosts,  half  furies,  supposed  to  be 
the  souls  of  wicked  dead  not  allowed  to  rest  in  the  other  world, 
and  returning  to  torment  evil-doers  in  this.  Cf.  Aug.  Civ.  Deiy 
ix.  II.  In  popular  speech  they  served  as  do  our  "  hobgob- 
lins" and  "the  bogie-man."  Possibly  to  the  point  also  here 
is  the  special  fact  that  they  were  supposed  to  cause  insanity, 
which  might  be  considered  a  logical  part  of  Claudius's  destiny. 
Cf.  Festus  (Pauli  Exc,  p.  119,  ed.  M.),  Larvati,  furiosi  et 
mente  moti  quasi  larvis  exterriti.  Biicheler  compares  Julian's 
Caesar es,  5,  where :  avrov  [Caligulam]  StSoxriv  ly  AcKiy  rats 


c.  9.]  NOTES  201 

Ilotvats,  at  §€  eppuf/av  els  Tdprapov.     Mahly,  however,  suggests 
the  reading  lanistis  for  larvis^  in  view  of  the  following. 

auctoratos:  as  defined  by  Aero,  ad  Hor.  S.  ii.  7,  59:  qui  se 
vendunt  ludo  [sc.  gladiatorio]  atictorati  vocantur ;  audoratio 
enim  dicitur  veiiditio  gladiatorum.  Similarly  in  the  Gloss. 
Lat.  Graec,  avOatptTos,  cts  SovAov  iavrov  ^oAAojv  kol  pLovofJud- 
■)(0S'  Cf.  Petron.  117:  sacramenUim  iuravimiis  .  .  .  tan- 
quafn  legititni  gladiatores, 

vapulare :  in  the  sermo  vulgaris^  to  "  get  a  licking  " ;  one  of 
the  features  of  the  training  of  gladiators  for  the  ring,  especially 
the  raw  recruits,  novos  auctoratos.  Claudius  was  noted  for  the 
feciHty  with  which  he  condemned  men  to  this  life  (cf.  Dio,  Ix. 
13  ;  Suet.  CI.  21,  34),  although  heat  first  restricted  the  gladia- 
torial games  (Dio,  Ix.  5). 

Diespiter,  Vicae  Potae  filius :  Clearly  this  is  not  the  Jupiter 
who  has  just  figured  as  the  presiding  officer,  the  cosmopolitan 
Zeus  to  whom  poets  gave  the  name  Diespiter  as  god  of  the  sky. 
He  must  be  recognized  rather  as  the  old  Italian  Jupiter,  god  of 
the  daylight  (see  Preller,  Rom.  Mythol.,  pp.  218  and  609; 
Wissowa,  Relig.  u.  Kultus  der  Rojner^  p.  100,  Muller's  Ha7idb. 
V.  4),  traces  of  whose  worship  appear  in  the  rites  of  the  Feti- 
ales.  These  the  antiquarian  Claudius  had  just  revived  (Suet. 
CI.  25),  which  may  have  helped  Diespiter  to  think  so  well  of 
him.  Schenkl  cites  Lactantius,  Inst.  Div.  i.  {de  Falsa  Re- 
ligione),  14,  where  Pluton  Latine  est  Dispiter^  and  Cicero, 
N.  D.\\.  26,  66,  where  Dis  or  II Aovrwv  is  apparently  identified 
with  the  wealth -god  Plutus,  qtiia  et  recidunt  omnia  [i.e.  divi- 
tiae']  in  terras  et  oriu7itur  e  terris.  Cf.  Varro,  ZZ,  v.  66. 
Plutus,  according  to  Phaedrus,  iv.  12,  5,  was  son  of  Fortuna, 
which  would  not  be  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  statement 
here,  Vicae  Potae  filius.  The  whole  matter  is  involved  in 
confusion.  Perhaps  it  was  so  even  to  Seneca,  who  may  have 
held  a  reminiscence  of  some  of  these  associations  in  view  of 
Diespiter's  financial  dealings.  Several  of  the  early  editions 
read  Nicae  Potae;  the  ed.  prin.y  Diespiter  in  nepote  filius, 
Vica  Pota  had  a  temple  infra  Veliam  (Liv.  ii.  7),  and  her 


202  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  9. 

name  is  a  derivative  of  vincendi  atque  potiundi  (Cic.  de  Leg. 
ii.  II,  28),  so  that  she  was  a  sort  of  Victory  goddess.  The 
latter  part  of  the  name  may  possibly  here  be  a  hit  upon  money- 
getting.  But  it  is  safest  to  leave  the  reference  to  the  primitive 
Italian  divinity,  one  of  those  whose  quaintness  of  aspect  to  the 
Romans  of  Seneca's  time  specially  suggested  them  for  such 
presentation  as  this.  There  is  an  added  oddity  in  the  thought 
of  the  strict  old  Deus  Fidius,  by  whom  men  took  oath, 
here  sharing  in  such  a  log-rolling  bit  of  politics  with  Her- 
cules. 

nummulariolus :  Nummularius  is  a  word  of  a  common 
vulgar  formation,  frequent  in  inscriptions.  Cf.  e.g.  its  use 
in  Petron.  56.  The  diminutive  formed  from  it  is  doubly  a 
plebeianism. 

vendere  civitatulas  solebat :  Here,  again,  the  diminutive  is 
evidently  for  comic  effect.  This  is  a  plain  gibe  at  the  venality 
of  public  preferments  in  Claudius's  day ;  and  the  preceding 
statement,  hoc  quaestu  (i.e.  fiMmtnularii)  se  sustinebat^  sounds 
indeed  more  as  if  the  writer  had  some  particular  person  in 
mind.  Cf.  Dio,  Ix.  17:  ^  8'ow  Mco-o-oAtVa  ol  re  aTreXev^epot 
avTov  ovTws  ov  TTjv  TToXiT^iav  fjiovov,  ovSl  TOLs  (TTpaTetas  Kol  TOIS 
iTTLTpOTreui^s  Tas  re  i^yc/iovta?,  dAAa  kol  raXXa  iravra  d</)ctS(os 

CTTWAOVV  KOL  CKttTnjAcVOV,  KT€. 

auriculam  illi  tetigit:  as  we  should  say,  "gave  him  the 
wink."  But  this  is  somewhat  more.  Touching  the  ear  was 
the  common  sign  for  engaging  a  witness  to  appear  in  a  trial, 
on  the  theory,  as  Pliny  says  {N.H.  xi.  45,  103,  251),  that 
est  in  aure  ima  memoriae  sedes,  quatn  tangeiites^  antesta^nur. 
Cf.  Hor.  S.  i.  9,  ^^ ;  Plant.  Pers.  748.  Here  the  act  has  the 
more  general  sense  of  admonition,  as  in  Verg.  Ed.  vi.  3-4, 
Cynthius  aurem,  Vellit  et  admonuit.  Diespiter  was  asked  to 
be  not  witness,  but  advocate,  of  Claudius,  who  was  a  fellow- 
tradesman  in  citizenships.  The  diminutive,  auriculam^  is  quite 
classical,  but  the  series  of  three,  nu7n?nulariolus,  civitatulas, 
and  this,  in  quick  succession,  has  a  somewhat  noticeable  effect 
upon  the  characterization. 


c.  9]  NOTES  203 

cum  divus  Claudius :  There  is  little  significance  in  the  ap- 
parent flattery  of  divus,  for  Augustus  uses  it,  though  with  pos- 
sible irony,  in  the  two  following  chapters.  Divus  Claudius 
was  the  legal  name  of  him  now,  since  the  Senate  had  de- 
creed it. 

Augustum  sanguine  contingat  nee  minus  divam  Augustam : 
the  latter  even  more,  in  fact.  Claudius's  father,  Nero  Claudius 
Drusus,  was  the  own  son  of  diva  Augusta  (Livia)  by  her  first 
marriage,  and  therefore  only  the  stepson  of  Augustus  (but  cf. 
Suet.  CL  i).  Claudius  was  related  by  blood  to  Augustus 
through  his  mother,  Antonia  Minor,  who  was  the  daughter 
of  Octavia,  Augustus's  sister. 

quam  ipse  deam  esse  iussit :  Cf.  Suet.  CI.  11:  aviae  Liviae 
divinos  honor es,  etc.  Cf.  also  Dio,  Ix.  5.  The  nature  of 
Livia's  regard  for  her  grandson  is  indicated  by  Suet.  CI.  3. 

longe  omnes  mortales  sapientia  antecellat :  This  pleasantly 
recalls  the  funeral  oration  delivered  by  Nero  (Tac.  Ann. 
xiii.  3)  ;  cf.  also  cordatus  ho?no,  in  the  dirge,  c.  12.  On 
Claudius's  learning,  see  Introd.  pp.  10,  13. 

e  re  publica  :  The  senatorial  formality  of  this  phrase  (for  the 
customary  use  of  which  in  senatus  consulta  cf.  e.g.  Liv.  xxiii. 
24)  and  of  ex  hac  die,  in  the  next  sentence,  is  obviously  con- 
trasted with  the  sufficiently  novel  introduction  of  boiling-hot 
turnips  and  the  Metamorphoses  of  Ovid. 

cum  Romulo  .  .  .  fervent ia  rapa  vorare :  not,  as  Turnebus 
observes  {Adv.  ii.  112,  i),  ambrosia  and  nectar.  According 
to  tradition,  Romulus  lived  in  heaven  in  the  rustic  manner  of 
his  time  on  earth;  Ennius's  familiar  line  (Anna!.  119,  ed. 
Vahlen)  is  — 

Rofmdus  in  caelo  cum  dis  genitalibus  aevom 
Degit. 

Cf.  Mart.  xiii.  16: 

Haec  tibi  brumali  gaiidentia  frigore  rapa 
Quae  damtis^  in  caelo  Romulus  esse  solet. 


204  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  9.. 

It  is  a  broad  hint,  too,  at  Claudius's  voracity.  Cf.  Suet. 
32-33.  The  source  of  the  quotation,  which  is  the  ending  of 
a  hexameter  verse,  is  unknown. 

ita  uti  ante  eum  quis  Optimo  lure  factus  sit :  Quis  is  the  ms. 
reading.  Blicheler,  in  his  later  edition,  changes  it  to  qui^  as 
the  relative  is  used  in  this  kind  of  clause  in  Cic.  Philipp.  ix. 
7;  xi.  12;  C.I.L.  I.  200;  and  (probably)  Festus,  p.  187.  It 
is  not  essential,  however,  to  suppose  that  Seneca  in  the  satire 
always  used  such  expressions  with  formulaic  uniformity.  (Cf. 
€vpiJKa/xev,  (TvyxoLLptDfiev,  c  13.)  The  an^e  eum  suggests  the 
fitness  of  the  indefinite,  and  the  conditional  implication  justi- 
fies the  use  of  quis  in  this  sense.  Blicheler  calls  attention  to 
the  change  of  structure  after  censeo,  fi*om  uti  with  the  subjunc- 
tive to  the  accusative  and  infinitive  in  rem  .  .  .  adiciendamj 
and  cites  a  parallel  from  the  early  Latin  of  the  SC  de  Baccha- 
nalibusi  .  ,  .  eeis  rem  caputalem  faciendam  censuere  .  .  . 
atque  utei  hoce  in  tabolam  ahenam  inceideretis  ita  senatus 
aiquom  censuit,  etc.  (C.I.L.  I.  196,  11.  25-27;  also  X.  104). 
Cf.  a  similar  change  after  sitter e  in  Plant.  Most.  11-12 : 

Sine  modo  adveniat  senex: 
Sine  modo  venire  salvom, 

ad  Metamorphosis  Ovidi:  where  Romulus's  and  Caesar's 
apotheoses  were  already  included  :  Met.  xiv.  815;  xv.  745. 

videbatur  .  .  .  sententiam  vincere:  Blicheler  (ed.  min.) 
brackets  sententiam,  unnecessarily,  it  seems,  since  it  may  be 
explained,  like  causam  in  causam  vincere,  as  an  analogue  of 
the  cognate  accusative.  In  his  edition  of  1864  he  suggests 
the  emendation,  j^;^^  iam.  B.  Schmidt  proposes  sensi^n  iam 
(Jahrb.  f.  Class.  Phil.  93,  551  seq.). 

ferrum  suum  in  igne  esse :  a  close  parallel  to  our  "  Strike 
while  the  iron  is  hot." 

manus  manum  lavat:  The  same  proverb  is  in  Petron.  45. 
Of  similar  import,  ibid.  44  :  Serva  7ne,  servabo  te.  Otto  com- 
pares Epicharmus,  quoted  in  Plat.  Axioch.  366C,  and  Apost, 


c.  lo.]  -  NOTES  205 

i.  36:  a^^  x^ip  TOLv  X"P^  vtit^t.  Another  Greek  form  of  the 
proverb  was  ^ctp  X^p^  vltttu  SaKTvAd?  re  SctKTvXov. 

10.  tunc  divus  Augustus :  Recall  Augustus's  early  opinions 
of  his  grandnephew  in  the  letters  to  Livia,  already  quoted, 
Suet.  CI.  4. 

surrexit :  instead  of  merely  assenting  to  a  previously  ex- 
pressed opinion,  which  could  be  done  without  rising.  Cf. 
an  instance  in  Livy,  xxvii.  34 :  causa  .  .  .  gum  .  .  .  stantem 
coegit  in  senatu  sententiam  dicer e. 

sententiae  suae  loco  dicendae :  so  the  St.  G.  and  Val.  Mss. 
The  Wolfenbiittel  text  reads,  suo  loco.  Sententiae  dicendae 
may  be  taken,  as  by  Bucheler,  for  a  dative  of  purpose,  a 
usage  common  with  esse  or  after  nouns,  and  seen  frequently 
in  inscriptions.  In  this  text,  however,  it  can  easily  be  re- 
garded as  a  genitive.  Cf.  Ter.  Heaut.  Tim.  218  :  cogno- 
scendi  et  ignoscendi  dabitur  peccati  locus.  On  this  use  of  locOy 
cf.  Cic.  de  Leg.  iii.  18,  40  :  ut  loco  dicaty  id  est,  rogatus. 

summa  facundia  disseruit :  Cf.  Suet.  Atig.  84 :  Eloquentiam, 
studiaque  liber  alia,  ab  aetate  pri?na,  et  cupide  et  laboriosissime 
exercuit,  .  .  .  neque  in  senatu  neque  apud  populum  neque 
apud  milites  loctitus  est  umquam,  nisi  meditata  et  composita 
oratione:  quamvis  non  deficeretur  ad  subita  extemporali 
facultate.  Cf.  ibid.  86  ;  also  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  3 :  Augusto 
prompta  ac  profluens  quaequae  deceret  principem  eloquentia 
fuit. 

ex  quo :  Cf.  c.  i . 

nullum  me  verbum  fecisse :  suggesting  the  natural  modesty 
of  a  new-made  senator  and  the  custom  requiring  him  to  defer 
his  maiden  speech.  Pedarius  was  the  term  applied  in  the 
Roman  senate  to  those  who  only  voted  without  rising  to 
speak.  On  Augustus's  extreme  care  in  the  use  of  language, 
see  Suet.  Aug.  84  seq.     His  diplomatic  reserve  was  notorious. 

et  non  possum :  This  is  the  reading  of  the  St.  G.  MS.,  and  is 
used  by  Fickert  and  Haase.  Bucheler  gives  set  (ed.  1864) 
and  sed  (ed.  min.),  the  latter  being  the  reading  of  the  first 
edition  and  most  of  the  others.     Sed  is  the  more  apparently 


206  THE   SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  lo. 

appropriate  conjunction,  but  if  semper  meum  negotium  ago  be 
taken  as  merely  a  logical  subordinate  of  ex  quo  .  .  .  nullum 
me  verbum  fecisse,  the  passage  becomes  naturally,  "I  have 
been  silent  so  long  and  can  remain  so  no  longer." 

dolorem  quem  graviorem  pudor  facit :  The  question  in  the 
letters  to  Li  via  (Suet.  CI.  4)  appears  to  have  been  chiefly  one 
of  family  pride,  and  the  desire  to  keep  Claudius  out  of  a 
prominence  in  which  he  would  be  ridiculous. 

in  hoc  .  .  .  ornavi :  the  usual  summary  of  Augustus's  prin- 
cipal achievements. 

terra  marique  pacem  peperi :  Cf.  Res  Gestae  Divi  Augusti, 
c.  13  (Mommsen,  1883);  also  in  C.I.L.  III.  p.  788  seq.: 
lanum  ,  .  .  cum  per  totum  imperium  populi  Ro7nani  terra 
marique  esset  parta  victoriis  pax  .  .  .  ter  me  principe  sena- 
tus  claudendum  esse  censuit.  In  similar  connection,  cf.  Suet. 
Aug.  22,  terra  marique  pace  parta  ;  also  Livy,  i.  19,  and 
Sen.  de  Clemen,  i.  9. 

civilia  bella  compescui :  In  the  Res  Gestae  he  is  more  ex- 
plicit, lb.  c  I  :  Rem  publicam  dominatione  factionis  oppres- 
sam  in  libertatem  vindicavi. 

legibus  urbem  fundavi :  practically  a  quotation  from  Verg. 
Aen.  vi.  810,  the  prophecy  in  regard  to  Numa,  primam  qui 
legibus  urbem  Fundabit.  On  Augustus's  success  in  checking 
lawlessness  and  strengthening  the  empire,  cf.  Res  Gestae^ 
c.  25  seq.  (Momms.),  Tab.  V.  Also  in  Tab.  VI.  c.  34:  In 
consulatu  sexto  et  septimo,  bella  ubi  civilia  exstinxerain per  con- 
sensum  universorum  potitus  rerum  omnium.,  rej?i  publicam  ex 
mea  potestate  in  senatus  populique  Romani  arbitriutn  trans- 
tuli.  Also  in  c.  35  :  Senatus  et  equester  or  do  popidusque 
Romanics  universus  appellavit  me  patrem  patriae.  Cf.  like- 
wise Suet.  Aug.  31,  32  seq. ;  Tac.  Ann,  iii.  28  ;  and  Hor.  Fp. 
ii.  I,  3. 

operibus  ornavi:  Cf.  Res  Gestae,  19-24  (Tab.  IV),  for  an 
account  of  his  building  operations ;  also  Suet.  Azig.  29,  and 
28,  where  occurs  his  famous  boast :  marmorea/n  se  relinquere 
urbem  quam  lateritiam  accepisset. 


c.  10.]  NOTES  207 

ut :   aposiopesis. 

Messalae  Corvini  .  .  .  sententiam,  pudet  imperii:  This 
appeal  to  M.  Valerius  Messala  Corvinus  (Dessau,  Prosop. 
V.  90)  seems  somewhat  satirically  pathetic.  For  though  the 
famous  orator  (Cf.  Quintil.  x.  i,  and  Suet.  Tib,  70)  had 
been  a  colleague  of  Augustus  in  the  consulship  (Tac.  Ann, 
xiii.  34),  and  had  been  the  chosen  representative  of  the 
senate  in  haihng  Augustus  Pater  Patriae  (Suet.  Atig.  58), 
the  words  here  quoted  seem  to  belong  to  a  reminiscence 
that  must  have  been  far  less  pleasing  to  the  emperor.  In 
25  B.C.  Messala,  having  been  appointed  the  first  prefect  of 
the  city,  resigned,  as  Tacitus  says  {Ann.  vi.  11),  within  a 
few  days,  qtmsi  nescitis  exercendi.  According  to  Suetonius, 
quoted  by  St.  Jerome  in  his  Chronica  (Suet.,  ed.  Teub.,  p.  289), 
Messala  Corvinus  pritmis  praefectiis  urbis  facttis  sexto  die 
magistratu  se  abdicavit^  incivilem  potestatem  esse  contestans^ 
which,  though  privately  said  and  indirectly  reaching  Augus- 
tus's ears,  must  have  been  an  irritating  rebuff  to  his  policy. 
The  words,  pudet  imperii^  however,  are  not  exact  as  applied 
to  the  authority  of  a  praefectus  urbis,,  and  are  not  elsewhere 
quoted.  Corvinus  may  possibly  have  used  merely  a  word 
analogous  to  imperii. 

This  is  the  reading  of  the  St.  G.  MS.  The  others  gen- 
erally (Cod.  Val.,  pcidet  imperii)  give  praecidit  ius  imperii 
(and  so  the  editio  princeps)^  which  would  have  a  quite  differ- 
ent connection,  perhaps  with  Messala's  disgust  at  Antony's 
4allying  in  Egypt.  Wehle  suggests  pertaedet  imperii,  a  sort 
of  compromise  for  which  there  is  no  particular  necessity. 

The  incident  recalls  Claudius's  attempt  to  relinquish  his 
authority,  from  a  motive  quite  different ;  cf.  Suet.  CI.  36. 

non  posse  videtur  muscam  excitare :  The  fly  still  serves  as 
the  type  of  the  small  and  unimportant ;  cf.  Petron.  42 : 
mi7ioris  quam  muscae  stmtus. 

tam  facile  homines  occidebat :  Cf.  Suet.  CI.  29:  ifi  XXXV 
senator es,  etc.  .  .  .  tanta  facilitate  animadvertit  ut,  etc. 

quam  canis  adsidit:   so  the  St.  G.  ms.     The  commoner 


208  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  lo. 

reading,  from  the  Cod.  Val.  and  some  of  the  later  MSS.,  is  quant 
cams  excidit^  which  the  editors  generally  accept  as  explained 
by  Fromond,  canis  to  mean  the  "  dog-throw "  at  dice,  with 
perhaps  an  allusion  to  Claudius's  gambling  propensities. 
Bucheler  multiplies  his  objections  to  this  reading  to  the 
extent  of  carefully  stating  that  the  lowest  throw  actually  does 
not  fall  out  so  frequently  as  the  medium  ones  do,  —  which  is 
a  quaint  neglect  of  the  gambler's  psychology.  The  editio 
princeps  reads,  quam  canis  frustru7n  \sic'\  abscidit ;  Grono- 
vius,  according  to  the  suggestion  of  Rhenanus,  quam  cam's 
exta  edit. 

The  reading  of  the  text  may  refer  to  the  simple  facility 
with  which  a  dog  sits  down ;  or  perhaps,  as  Bucheler  and 
Otto  suggest,  to  another  frequent  canine  occasion,  which  may 
easily  have  become  proverbial.  Among  other  proverbs  for 
things  easy  to  do,  like  our  "  as  easy  as  falling  off  a  log,"  cf. 
Plaut.  Most.  559:  Tarn  facile  vinces  quam  pirum  volpes 
comest;  Petron.  57 :  ingenuum  nasci  tajn  facile  est  quam 
'accede  istoc.'' 

de  tot  ac  talibus  viris :  Ed,  prin.,  de  tot  actibus  iuris ;  so 
Ruhkopf. 

deflere :  Ed.  prin.,  deplorare. 

etiamsi  soror  mea  Graece  nescit,  etc. :  This  passage  has 
been,  as  Ruhkopf  calls  it,  crux  criticorum.  The  reading  of 
the  St.  G.  MS.  is,  etia^n  si  sormea  Graece  nescit  ego  scio 
ENTYCON  TONYKNHAIHC  iste  quem,  etc.  The  Cod. 
Val.  reads,  etiam  si  forme  a  grece  nescit  ego  scio  ENTYCO- 
NIKNNAIHC  iste  que^n,  etc.  The  other  MSS.  show  slight 
variations,  but  no  gain  in  intelligibility.  Most  of  them  have, 
instead  of  sormea,  formea  or  phorjnea,  which  may  easily  be 
accounted  for  by  a  misunderstanding  of  a  long  s.  In  Paris 
8717,  the  "word  graece  is  lacking. 

Many  of  the  editions  simply  give  the  traditional  reading  of 
the  codices  (with  Phor/nea)  without  attempt  to  explain. 
Among  the  conjectural  emendations  have  been  those  of: 
Rhenanus,  Nafn  t^s  6pyrj%  aegre  senescit  ij  vdo-os.     IIv/oyoTro- 


c.  lo.]  NOTES  209 

XtviKry?  iste  quern  videtis^  etc. ;  Fromond,  a  modification  of 
that  of  Junius,  Natn  etiamsi  <l>opfiL^€Lv  7iescit^  ego  scio,  ivTvviav 
TO  KaAAtVtK€  *iipaK\rjS'  Iste  quern,  etc. ;  Cortius,  Etiamsi 
Phor?Hio  (sc.  Terentii)  neces  nescit,  ego  scio:  Ivtolkov  KaKov 
nee  diis  senescit.  Iste,  etc. ;  Bouillet,  Eiia^fisi  forte  ea  nescitj 
ego  scio  tv  Tv^ovTiav  :  hie  in  Diis  se  nescit.  Iste,  etc.  (so  in 
Develay's  translation ;  cf.  Suet.  CI.  39,  on  Claudiuses  absent- 
mindedness)  ;  Schenkl,  etiamsi  6  pnapo^  ea  [^Graece"]  7iescit, 
ego  scio,  ivOvfjLLov  to  kclvov  Xltjv,  the  last  words  being  a  remi- 
niscence of  the  Homeric  verse  {Od.  xiii.  421)  ^^  h-q  tol 
Kctvos  yc  XCrjv  ivOvpno^  Icttu).  But  BUcheler's  interpretation 
of  the  string  of  Greek  letters  easily  supersedes  all  these 
other  efforts.  The  proverb  Tow  Kvrjfxrj';  lyyiov,  which  appears 
several  times  in  the  Paroerniographi  Graeci,  in  the  collections 
of  Zenobius,  Diogenianus,  Arsenius,  Apostolius,  and  Gre- 
gorius  Cyprius,  is  quoted  by  Aristotle  (^Eth,  Nic,  ix.  8,  2), 
Athenaeus  (ix.  30,  383b),  Cicero,  in  a  letter  to  Tiro  {Ep. 
ad  Fam.  xvi.  23),  where  however  it  is  only  yow  KV7Jfxr]<;, 
with  lyyiov  understood,  and  others.  In  Theocritus,  xvi.  18, 
is  found  the  converse  of  it,  airunipdi  rj  yow  Kvdfm,  while  the 
Fl^Miine  tunica  propior  pa/liost  (Trin.  11 54)  is  an  obvious 
parallel.  The  sense  of  the  quotation  is  plain,  after  Augustus's 
allusion  to  his  domestica  mala  just  before.  The  word  Graece, 
bracketed  by  Biicheler,  seems  best  disposed  of  by  the  theory 
that  it  was  a  marginal  comment  of  some  transcriber  upon  the 
Greek  quotation,  which  he  did  not  understand  and  perhaps 
omitted ;  Fromond  thought,  upon  the  word  <^op/xtifciv  of  his 
reading,  transliterated  into  Latin.  The  point  of  the  state- 
ment, soror  tnea  nescit,  i.e.  not  Greek,  but  that  one's  knee 
is  nearer  than  one's  shin,  very  likely  depends  upon  some  fact 
unknown  to  us.  Possibly  Octavia,  who  was  Claudius's  grand- 
mother on  the  mother's  side,  had  been  less  pessimistic  as  to 
the  boy's  capabilities  than  Augustus  and  Livia. 

In  most  of  the  editions,  after  the  Greek  letters,  comes  the 
word  senescit  before  iste  quern,  etc.  It  is  not  found  in  the  MSS. 
and  seems  to  be  a  mere  survival,  in  a  senseless  dittography, 


2IO  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  lo. 

from  Rhe nanus's  conjectural  reading,  formed  of  -ce  (in  Graece) 
and  7iescit. 

sub  meo  nomine  latens :  as  all  the  emperors  took  the  name 
of  Augustus  ;  but  Claudius,  in  particular,  in  the  oath,  per  Au- 
gustum  (Suet.  CI.  ii),  made  to  him  his  favorite  adjuration. 
Augustus's  lack  of  cordiality  to  his  kinsman  recalls  oddly  the 
wish  expressed  for  Claudius  in  the  Consol.  ad  Polyb.  (xii.  5), 
sera  .  .  .  dies  .  .  ,  sit  .  ,  .  qua  ilhim  gens  sua  caelo  adserat. 

duas  lulias :  The  death  of  both  is  recorded  in  Suet.  CI.  29, 
and  both  were  victims  of  Messalina.  lulia  Li  villa  (Dessau, 
Prosop.  I.  444)  was  the  daughter  of  Germanicus,  the  adopted 
son  of  Tiberius,  and  having  excited  Messalina's  jealousy 
was  banished,  a.d.  41,  on  a  charge  of  adultery  with  Seneca 
himself.  Hence  he  was  banished  to  Corsica,  while  she  not 
long  after  was  killed  {fame  ocdsa)  in  exile  (Dio,  Ix.  8). 
The  other  Julia  {Prosop.  I.  422)  was  the  daughter  of  Dmsus, 
Tiberius's  son.  According  to  Dio,  Ix.  18,  Messalina,  ^t^Ao- 
rvn-qdCLda,  as  in  the  case  of  the  other  one,  caused  her  death 
{ferro),  apparently  through  the  agency  of  P.  Suillius  (Tac. 
Ann.  xiii.  43).  Cf.  Tac.  xiii.  32,  speaking  of  Pomponia 
Graecina's  mourning,  .  .  .  post  luliam  Drusi  filiam  dolo 
Messalinae  inter  feet  am. 

abnepotem  L.  Silanum:  Cf.  c.  8  and  c.  11.  L.  lunius 
Silanus  Torquatus  (Dessau,  Prosop.  I.  559)  was  the  son  of 
M.  lunius  Silanus  M.  f.  Torquatus  who  was  consul  A.D.  19 
(not  the  same  as  the  M.  lunius  Silanus  who  was  Caius's 
father-in-law),  and  of  Aemilia  Lepida,  proneptis  Augusti 
through  her  mother  lulia,  the  daughter  of  M.  Agrippa  and 
of  Julia,  daughter  of  Augustus  and  Scribonia.  (Biicheler, 
following  Borghesi,  Oeuvres,  V.  161-233,  makes  L.  Silanus 
the  son  of  Appius  Silanus;  cf.  c  11,  note.)  L.  Silanus  was 
born  about  a.d.  24  and  Octavia  was  engaged  to  him  a.d.  41. 
He  was  in  high  favor  with  Claudius,  and  in  44  a.d.,  while 
still  a  youth,  was  granted  the  ornament  a  triiimphalia  at  the 
time  of  the  latter's  Britannic  triumph.  When  Agrippina 
wished  to  secure  the  marriage  of  Nero  and  Octavia,  Silanus 


CIO.]  NOTES  211 

was  accused  of  incest  by  Vitellius,  a.d.  48,  and  he  com- 
mitted suicide  on  the  day  of  the  marriage  of  Claudius  and 
Agrippina  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  49,  ruined,  as  Dio 
says,  by  the  charge  of  conspiracy.  Cf.  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  3, 
4,  8;  xiii.  i;  Dio,  Ix.  5,  23,  31;  Suet.  CI.  24,27,2^.  See 
also  Mommsen,  in  Eph.  Epig.  I.  p.  62,  and  inscriptions  there 
cited,  C.I.L.  XIV.  2500  and  C.I. A.  III.  612  (2). 

videris  luppiter  ...  in  causa  .  .  .  certe  .  .  .  tua:  This 
evidently  recalls  the  idea  brought  out  in  c.  8,  love^  quetn 
quantum  quidem  in  illo  fuit,  daninavit  incesti.  It  seems 
almost  like  an  effort,  by  returning  to  lay  stress  upon  Jupiter's 
concern  in  the  matter,  to  divert  attention  from  the  indiscretion 
of  alluding  to  Silanus's  death  at  all,  considering  Agrippina's 
share  in  it.  Seneca  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  mention 
it,  but  undertook  to  conceal  the  hit  as  much  as  possible. 

videris  ...  an  ...  si  aecus  futurus  es :  This,  the  reading 
of  the  St.  G.  text,  is  evidently  bad  grammar,  but  the  repetition 
of  the  particle  is  colloquially  explained  by  the  insertion  of 
the  parenthetical  certe  in  tua^  after  which  the  speaker  begins 
again  with  his  inquiry.  Both  this  and  the  use  of  the  indica- 
tive es  in  the  indirect  question  are  characteristic  of  the  vulgar 
syntax.     Cf.  die  mihi  .  .  .  qjiare  .  .  .  damnasti  following. 

The  editio  princeps  reads,  videris  luppiter  an  in  tua  certe 
mala  venit :  si  hie  inter  nos  futuriis  est.  Other  editions, 
variously. 

.  dive  Claudi:  Cf.  c.  9.  The  irony  is  comic  enough  to 
relieve  somewhat  the  unbroken  solemnity  of  Augustus's 
bitterness. 

antequam  de  causa  cognosceres,  etc. :  Cf  c.  12,  una  tantum 
parte  audita^  etc.,  and  c.  14,  similarly.  A  propos  of  Claudius's 
capricious  unfairness  in  hearing  cases,  cf.  Suet.  CI.  15  :  Alius 
gr alias  agenSy  quod  reu?n  defendi  pateretur,  adiecit,  '  et  tamen 
fieri  solet ' ;  ibid.  29,  on  Claudius's  hasty  condemnations  ;  also 
Dio,  ix.  14-16. 

hoc  ubi  fieri  solet  ?  :  like  an  allusion  to  the  advocate's  re- 
mark just  quoted. 


212  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  ii. 

11.  pi»|/€  iroSos  TCTa-ywv  diro  Pt^Xov  Oeo-irco-Coio :  Tliad^  i.  591, 
where  Vulcan  himself  gives  the  familiar  description  of  how 
he  fell  all  day  and  landed  on  Lemnos.  The  editio  princeps 
gives  instead  of  the  Greek  after  cms  fregit  the  words  et  in 
Lemnon  caelo  deturbavit,  non  extinxit,  which  in  many  suc- 
ceeding editions  are  inserted  after  the  Greek. 

iratus  fuit  uxori  et  suspendit  illam:  Iliad,  xv.  18,  where 
Zeus  recalls  the  incident  unpleasantly  to  Hera''s  memory. 
In  the  same  connection  (1.  23),  he  refers  to  the  casting 
down  of  Hephaestos  in  nearly  the  same  terms  as  are  used 
above. 

Messalinam,  cuius  aeque  avunculus  maior  eram  quam  tuus : 
Valeria  Messalina  (Dessau,  Prosop.  V.  161),  both  on  her 
father's  and  her  mother's  side,  was  the  great-granddaughter 
of  Octavia,  the  sister  of  Augustus,  who  was  thus  her  avuncu- 
lus maior.  Claudius,  however,  was  the  grandson  of  Octavia, 
so  that  Augustus  was  properly  his  avunculus  magnus.  He 
is,  however,  called  avuncidus  maior  of  Claudius  in  Suet.  CI, 
3,  and  referred  to  as  his  avunculus  by  Seneca  in  the  Consol. 
ad.  Polyb.  15.  See  Lexicon  for  instances  of  similar  confusion 
of  terms. 

Messalinam  .  .  .  occidisti:  Cf.  Tac.  A7in.  xi.  37-38. 
Though  Agrippina  received  the  benefit  of  her  death,  she 
"had  no  hand  in  her  dying,"  and  there  is  nothing  invidious 
to  Seneca's  patroness  in  the  allusion ;  it  even  tends  to  justify 
her  for  putting  Claudius  out  of  the  way  before  he  served  her 
in  the  same  manner. 

"  nescio "  inquis :  This  notorious  instance  of  Claudius's 
/zcTcwpta  (Suet.  CI.  39,  where  is  recorded  his  question  at 
dinner,  cur  domina  non  veniret)  is  thus  described  in  Tac. 
Ann.  xi.  38 :  nee  ille  quaesivit,  poposcitque  poculum  et  solita 
convivia  celebravit.  ne  secutis  quidem  diebus  odii  gaudily 
irae  tristitiae,  ullius  denique  humani  adfectus  signa  dedit. 
Similar  was  the  time  when  after  the  death  of  Poppaea  (Tac. 
Ann.  xi.  2),  epulante^n  apud  se  77iaritu7n  eius  Scipione7n 
percontareiur,  cur  sine  uxore  discubuisset,  atque  ille  functaTn 


c.  II.]  NOTES  213 

fato  responderet.  The  same  thing  happened  often,  according 
to  Suet.  CI.  39.  Cf.  ibid.  29 :  .  .  .  supplicia  largitus  est,  et 
quidem  insciens  plerumque  et  ignarus. 

turpius  est :  See  Introd.  pp.  9  and  13. 

C.  Caesarem  non  desiit  mortuum  persequi:  apparently  a 
play  upon  two  meanings  of  the  verb,  to  persecute  and  to  />;//- 
tate.  Dio,  Ix.  3-4,  tells  how  Claudius  promptly  proceeded 
to  undo  the  acts  of  Caligula,  so  far  as  possible,  and  to  oblit- 
erate his  memory.  See  also  Suet.  CI.  11.,  fin.  Gaii  .  .  .  acta 
omnia  rescidit.  Here  belongs,  too,  hie  nomen  illi  reddidit; 
after  the  other  sense  of  perseqiii  is  caput  tidit.  And  the 
emphasis  is  decidedly  upon  Claudius's  imitations  of  his  mad 
predecessor ;  whom,  by  way  of  precedent,  the  Romans  had 
more  than  refrained  from  deifying. 

occiderat  ille  socenim  :  M.  lunius  Silanus  C.  f.  (Dessau, 
Prosop.  I.  551),  constd  siiffecttis  a.d.  15,  was  the  father  of 
lunia  Claudilla  (or  Claudia),  who  was  married  to  Caligula 
A.D.  33.  Cf.  Tac.  A7m.  vi.  20;  Suet.  Cal.  12.  She  died 
before  Caligula  came  to  power;  Tac.  Ann.  vi.  45.  On  M. 
Silanus's  importance  under  Tiberius,  cf.  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  59,  and 
iii.  24,  and  Dio,  lix.  8.  On  his  fall,  a.d.  38,  cf.  Dio,  ibid.\ 
Suet.  Cal.  23 ;  Tac.  Agr.  4. 

hie  et  generum  :  i.e.  socerum  (Appius  Silanus,  vid.  infra)  et 
generum  insuper ;  in  fact,  duos  generosy  as  Augustus  presently 
states. 

Gains  Crassi  filium  vetuit  Magnum  vocari :  Cf.  Suet.  Cal.  35  : 
Vetera  familiarum  insignia  noblissinw  cuique  ademit,  Tor- 
quato  torquem,  Cincinnato  crinem,  Cn.  Pompeio  stirpis  an- 
tiquae  Magni  cognomen.  Cf.  also  Dio,  Ix.  5,  where  Gains 
himself  is  said  to  have  been  on  the  point  of  killing  the  young 
Magnus  because  of  the  name.  Mommsen  (Ephem.  Epig.  I. 
66)  thinks  that  the  above  statement  of  Suetonius,  Torquato 
torquem  [ademif]  refers  to  the  femily  of  the  L.  Silanus  Tor- 
quatus  here  mentioned,  so  that  oddly  enough  two  sons-in-law 
of  Claudius  had  fared  alike  in  the  loss  of  their  familiarum 
insignia  as  well  as  in  the  other  respect. 


214  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  ii. 

hie  nomen  illi  reddidit :  Cf.  Dio,  Ix.  ^^fin.  o  yc  /utiyv  KXavStos 
mi  iKCLVo  avTo  to  Trpoaprjixa  aTreStoKe,  kol  tyjv  Ovyarepa  7rpo(T(Tvv- 
wKL(r€.  Here  is  perhaps  a  side  thrust  at  Claudius's  excessive 
good  nature  in  the  bestowal  of  titles  and  dignities  generally. 
Cf.  Suet,  a,  24. 

caput  tulit :  for  the  more  natural  abstuUt. 

in  una  domo  Crassum,  Magnum,  Scriboniam,  etc. :  Augustus 
is  repetitious  in  his  charges,  even  apart  from  the  formal  indict- 
ment at  the  end.  M.  Licinius  Crassus  Frugi  (Dessau,  Pro- 
sop.  L.  130)  was  consul  ordinarius  a.d.  27.  What  is  thought 
to  be  his  sepulchral  inscription  has  been  discovered  near  the 
Via  Salaria.  Cf.  Bull.  delV  Inst.  1885,  p.  9;  Dessau,  Inscr, 
Lat.  Sel.  No.  954.  M.  Licinius  \  M.  f.  Men.  \  Crassus  Frugi  \ 
pontif.  pr.urb.  \  cos.  leg.  \  Ti.  Claudi  Caesar  is  \  Aug.  Ge{r)7na' 
nici  \  in  .  .  .  \.  Unfortunately  the  last  line  is  nearly  all  gone. 
On  other  inscriptions  his  name  appears  in  the  consular  date. 
It  is  uncertain  whether  he  was  a  descendant  of  Crassus  the 
Triumvir,  though  by  an  allusion  in  Tac.  Hist.  i.  15,  this  is 
implied.  (Cf.  Momms.  in  Fpk.  Eptg.  1. 145.)  Plutarch  {Vit. 
Galbae,  23)  alludes  to  him  as  killed  by  Nero,  an  error  doubt- 
less originating  with  a  confusion  of  him  and  his  son  of  the 
same  name  whom  Nero  did  kill  (Tac.  Hist.  i.  48). 

Cn.  Pompeius  Magnus  (Dessau,  Prosop.  P.  477),  son  of 
the  foregoing  and  of  Scribonia,  is  referred  to  simply  as  Magnus 
also  in  Tac.  Hist.  i.  48,  Dio,  Ix.  21,  and  Zonaras,  xi.  9.  The 
marble  cippus  bearing  his  epitaph  was  found  in  the  excavations 
on  the  Via  Salaria  with  those  of  his  father  and  his  brother,  L. 
Calpurnius  Piso  Frugi  Licinianus,  the  unfortunate  young  man 
adopted  by  Galba  (Tac.  Hist.  i.  14,  Plut.  Galb.  23)  ;  cf.  Btdl. 
deW  Inst.  1885,  p.  9,  Dessau,  Inscr.  Lat.  Sel.  No.  955  :  Cn. 
Po7np{eius)  \  Crassi  f.  Men.  \  Magnus  \  pontif,  quaest.  \  Ti. 
Claudi  Caesaris  Aug.  \  Germanici  \  soceri  sui  I .  Caligula's 
treatment  of  his  name  has  already  been  referred  to.  He  was 
betrothed  to  Claudius's  elder  daughter,  Antonia,  a.d.  41  (Dio, 
Ix.  5  and  21 ;  Suet.  CI.  27),  but  was  put  to  death  in  the  year 
47  on  account  of  Messalina's  jealousy  ;  Suet.  CI.  29 :  ite7n  Cn, 


c.  II.]  NOTES  215 

Pompeium  maiorisfiliae  viru7n,  et  L.  Silanum  minoris  sponsum 
\occidit\ .  Ex  qtdbus  Fompems  in  concubitti  dilecti  adulescentuli 
confossiis  est.    Cf.  Zonaras,  xi.  9,  and  Tac.  Hist.  i.  48. 

Scribonia  (Dessau,  Prosop.  S.  221)  was  wife  and  mother  of 
the  two  preceding.  Since  the  name  of  Cn.  Pompeius  Magnus 
was  given  to  one  of  the  sons  of  her  and  Crassus  Frugi,  it 
has  been  inferred  that  she  was  a  descendant  of  the  original 
Pompeius  Magnus,  and  a  sister  of  M.  Scribonius  Libo  Drusus. 

Tristionias,  Assarionem:  so  the  St.  G.  ms.  The  Val.  text 
reads,  Tristioniam,  Bassionia?n,  Assariotiem,  The  editio 
princeps  gives  Bassioniam  instead  of  Tristionias.  They  are 
persons  unknown.  Biicheler  suggests  the  possibility  of  tris 
homines  assartos,  on  the  analogy  of  Petron.  45,  sestei'tiaritis 
homo ;  ibid.  58,  domimis  dupunduariiis  ;  ibid.  74,  homo  dipiin- 
diariiis.  This  would  comport  well  with  the  following :  nobiles 
tamen,  etc.  On  this  latter  expression,  cf.  Tac.  Hist.  i.  14, 
where  Crassus  Frugi  and  Scribonia  are  expressly  mentioned 
as  of  noble  birth. 

Crassus  .  .  .  tarn  fatuum,  ut  etiam  regnare  posset :  Of  his 
character  we  have  no  other  knowledge.  He  had,  at  least, 
been  consul.  Compare  the  proverb  in  c.  i,  aut  regem  aut 
fatuum.,  etc. 

Between  posset  and  the  following  htaic  nunc  deum  occurs 
in  the  editio  princeps  the  following  passage :  cogitate  P.  C. 
quale  portentum  in  mmierum  deorum  se  recipi  cupiat.  Prin- 
cipes  pietate  et  iustitia  dii  fimit.  Scilicet  hie  plus  et  iusttis^ 
quoniam  Dryudarum  [sic'^  perfidae  gentis  Gallicae  immanem 
relligionem^  a  qua  cives  submoveram  :  prorsus  exterpavit :  ut 
Romae  7i7iptiaru?n  sacra  essent,  quibus  ipse :  cum  sibi  Agrip- 
pina  nuberet.  XXX  Senatoribus :  innumeris  Eq.  Ro.  mactatis  : 
principium  dedit.  All  but  the  first  sentence  of  this  is  obvi- 
ously an  interpolation  lacking  manuscript  authority,  and  crude 
of  its  kind.  The  allusion  to  the  Druids  is  from  Suet.  CI.  25  : 
Dryidarum  religionem  apud  Gallos  dirae  ifmnanitatiSy  et  tan- 
ttwi  civibus  sub  Augusto  interdictam,  penitus  abolevit.  The 
XXX  senatoribus,  etc.,  is  probably  from  c.  14  of  the  Apocolo- 


2l6  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  ii. 

cyntosis  itself,  and  the  reference  to  Agrippina  is  plainly  im- 
possible. The  first  sentence,  however,  quale  portentum,  etc., 
while  also  lacking  in  the  best  manuscripts  (St.  G.,  Val.,  Wolf.), 
and  perhaps,  as  Schenkl  concluded,  a  gloss  from  the  same  hand 
as  the  other,  is  much  better  in  connection  with  the  following, 
corpus  eius  dis  iratis  ^latu^n^  and  is  included  without  brackets 
in  the  texts  of  Ruhkopf,  Fickert,  Schusler,  Haase,  and  other 
of  the  critical  editors.  Its  origin  presumably  is  in  Claudius's 
mother's  remark  of  him,  portentmn  eutn  hominis^  Suet.  CI.  3. 

corpus  eius  dis  iratis  natum :  See  Otto,  Sprichworter .  Cf. 
Phaedr.  iv.  20,  15  :  dis  est  iratis  natus  qui  est  similis  tibi. 
Similarly,  Plant.  Most.  563  :  natus  dis  inimicis  omnibus.  Cf. 
also  id.  Mil.  Glor.  314;  Hor.  S.  ii.  3,  7 ;  Pers.  iv.  27 ;  Juv.  x. 
129. 

ad  summam :  "  in  short."  The  phrase  in  this  sense  is  com- 
mon in  parts  of  Petronius's  dialogue,  e.g.  2,  37, 38,  57,  58,  76- 
78.  Cf.  Hor.  Ep.  i.  I,  106;  Cic.  Ep.  ad  Attic,  vii.  7,  7; 
X.  4,  II.  In  Suet.  Aug.  71,  Augustus  himself  uses  the  word 
in  the  more  precise  sense  of  the  final  total. 

tria  verba  cito  dicat :  a  challenge  to  Claudius's  stammering 
tongue.  See  Introd.  p.  6.  Cf.  in  Sen.  Ep.  40,  9,  a  remark 
of  Geminus  Varius  about  P.  Vinicius,  whose  manner  of  speak- 
ing was  said  to  be  tractim^  tria  verba  non  potest  iungere.  The 
expression,  "three  words,"  was  proverbial.  See  Otto,  and 
compare  also,  e.g..,  Plant.  Trinum.  963,  te  tribus  verbis  volo ; 
Lipsius's  Somnium,  6,  tria  verba  latine  scribe.  Stahr  finds 
here  a  hint  of  a  legal  expression  like  the  formula,  hie  meus  est, 
with  which  a  master  claimed  a  runaway  slave  as  his  property. 

et  servum  me  ducat :  "  and  he  can  have  me." 

hunc  deum  quis  colet  ?  Augustus  apparently  has  overlooked 
the  circumstance  mentioned  at  the  end  of  c.  8,  parum  est 
quod,  etc. 

nemo  vos  deos  esse  credet :  Cf.  c.  9,  quid  de  nobis  existimabit  f 

summa  rei:  an  exceptional  ellipsis  ;  cf.  ad  summam. 

si  honeste  me  inter  vos  gessi :  me  is  not  in  the  ms.,  but  a 
conjecture  of  Haase. 


c.  II.]  NOTES  217 

clarius:  so  the  St.  G.  ms.  Val.  gives  clarus.  Several  of 
the  later  mss.  and  the  editio  prmceps  give  durus.  The 
change  is  easily  made.  Rhenanus  and  most  of  the  editors 
give  durius.  Wehle  conjectures  acrius^  but  admits  that 
clarius  may  refer  to  Augustus's  well-known  reserve  of  speech. 
Cf.  Suet.  Aug.  84 :  pronuntiebat  dulci  et  propria  quodam  oris 
sono.  Apart  from  this  implication,  cf  Suet.  Cal,  22 :  cum 
Capitolino  love  secreto  fabulabatur  \_Caligida\,  modo  insu- 
surrans  .  .  .  jnodo  clarius  nee  sine  iurgiis ;  id.  Vitell.  14:  .  .  . 
dare  jnaledixertmt.  Here  the  apparent  change  of  sense  is 
due  of  course  to  an  accidental  association. 

ex  tabella  recitavit :  as  Augustus  was  noted  for  trusting 
himself  little  to  extemporary  speech  in  important  matters ; 
Suet.  Aug.  84.  Cf.  A.  Gellius,  vii.  19,  Gracchus  .  .  .  decre- 
tum  ex  tabella  recitavit.  The  use  of  manuscript  in  rendering 
the  formal  sententiae  of  senatorial  debates  in  Rome  appears 
to  have  been  a  matter  of  personal  preference.  Decisions  in 
trials,  however,  were  regularly  rendered  in  written  form.  Cf. 
Suet.  CI.  15,  where  half  the  joke  in  one  of  Claudius's  ridicu- 
lous judgments  was  that  it  was  read  ex  tabella. 

divus  Claudius :  Cf.  the  same  in  c.  9.  Bucheler  suggests 
that  the  present  instance  may  be  a  copyist^s  blunder  for  Ti 
Claudius. 

socerum  suum,  Appium  Silanum :  C.  Appius  Junius  Silanus 
(cf.  Dessau,  Prosop.  I.  541),  according  to  the  Fasti^  was  con- 
sul ordinarius  a.d.  28 ;  maies talis  accjisatus  a.d.  32,  sed  abso- 
lutus.  Claudius  treated  him  with  high  honor  and  married  him 
to  Messalina's  mother  (Dio,  Ix.  14).  In  42,  Messalina,  whom 
he  had  angered,  joined  the  freedman  Narcissus  in  a  plot  against 
him.  They  both  reported  to  Claudius  that  they  had  dreamed 
of  his  murder  by  Appius,  and  the  emperor  in  fright  immedi- 
ately consented  to  the  death  of  the  latter.  Cf.  also  Suet.  CI. 
29  and  37  ;  Tac.  Aftn.  xi.  29. 

Appius,  though  here  called  socer,  was  strictly,  so  to  say, 
Claudius's  step-father-in-law.  In  Suet.  CI.  29,  he  is  called 
consocer,  but  not  correctly  so,  though  he  would  be  if,  as  stated 


2l8  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  ii. 

by  Ruhkopf  and   Bucheler,  he  instead  of  Marcus   was  the 
father  of  Lucius  Silanus,  on  whom  see  note,  c.  lo. 

generos  duos  Magnum  Pompeium  et  L.  Silanum :  Cf.  Dio, 
Ix.  5  :  TQM  yovv  Ovyarepa^  .  .  .  Tr)v  /xev  iyyvijcra'S  AovKto) 
'lovvto)  StAavo),  TTjv  Sk  ckSovs  Fvatu)  no/xTrryto)  Mayvo).  Simi- 
larly, Suet.  C/.  29,  already  cited.  In  Dio,  Ix.  21,  both  Mag- 
nus and  Silanus  are  called  ya/x/Jpo:',  though  to  Silanus  Octavia 
was  only  affianced.  Cf.  Verg.  A  en.  ii.  344,  where  the  usage 
is  the  same ;  also  Hor.  Epod.  vi.  13. 

Crassum  Frugi  hominem :  Many  of  the  early  editions  have 
Crassum^  frugi  hominem ;  it  was,  however,  printed  as  a  cog- 
nomen in  the  editio  princeps.  There  may  possibly  be,  as 
Fromond  says,  an  intended  play  upon  the  word  in  both 
senses. 

tarn  similem  sibi  quam  ovo  ovum :  See  Otto.  Cf.  Cic.  Acad, 
pr.  ii.  1 7, 54 :  ut  sibisint  et  ova  ovorum  et  apes  apium  simillimae ; 
ibid.  18,  57  :  Videsne  ut  in proverbio  sit  ovorum  inter  se  simili- 
tudo?  So  also  Quintil.  v.  11,  30:  ut  illud:  non  ovum  tam 
simile  ovo.  Erasmus  discusses  the  proverb  in  his  Adag.  1410. 
In  a  similar  sense  are  quoted  the  Plautine,  neque  lac  lactis 
magis  est  simile  and  ex  uno  puteo  similior  nunquam  aqua 
aquae^  and  the  Greek,  otvaco)  ovkov  ovSc  %.v  ovtws  ofJiOLOVy  etc. 
The  resemblance  of  Crassus  to  Claudius  was  doubtless  in  the 
qualification  mentioned  above,  tam/atuum,  etc. 

nee  illi  rerum  iudicandarum  vacationem  dari :  This  and  the 
following  clauses  specifically  explain  the  first,  in  eum  severe 
animadverti. 

Schusler  says  :  Eadem  fort  ass  e  ratione  h.  /.,  qua  apud  Nep. 
Att.  7  et  Cic.  Coel.  2^  explicandum  esse  censeo ;  uti  enim  ibi 
aetatis  et  adolescentiae  vacatio  est  liberation  quae  aetatis  et  ado- 
lescentiae  causa  obtinetur,  sic  h.  I.  reru7n  iudicandarum  vaca- 
tio est  liberatio  reru?n  iudicandarmn  gratia^  qua  alicui  reo 
facultas  datur  se  defendendi.  Hanc  igitur  Claudio  negari 
placet  August 0^  iure,  qmmi  eadein  ratione  ille  quam  pluritnos 
damnavisset.  Bucheler  takes  the  same  direction,  saying  that 
the  genitive  does  not  mean,  as  in  militiae  vacationetn^  the  ob- 


c.  II.]  NOTES  219 

ject  from  which  freedom  is  sought,  but  simply  a  general  rela- 
tion to  the  substantive  by  which  it  stands,  as  in  the  instances 
cited  by  Schusler.  All  this  seems  to  me  unnecessary  and  far- 
fetched. Rertifn  itidicandarimi  may  very  well  be  taken  as 
the  objective  genitive  common  with  vacatio.  Here  is  the 
first  of  a  series  of  proposals  of  poetic  justice  (cf.  c.  12,  nenia, 
I.  20  seq.),  others  appearing  in  cc  14  and  15.  Claudius  in  his 
lifetime  had  persisted  in  conducting  trials  very  badly;  now 
for  all  eternity  he  is  to  be  condemned  to  weary  himself  un- 
ceasingly with  the  same  employment.  That  the  penalty  would 
have  been  an  awkward  one  to  carry  out  does  not  matter. 
Nobody  waited  to  see  the  joke  applied.  The  whole  thing 
seems  obvious.  Cf.  also  Cic.  N.D.  i.  20,  53 :  beatam  vitam 
.  ,  .  et  in  07?miu7Ji  vac  at  tone  ?}iuner7i?n  po?timus. 

exportari  et  .  .  .  excedere  :  Note  the  e(,  making  the  explana- 
tory clause  apparently  coordinate  with  the  preceding.  Cf. 
animadverti  nee  .  .  .  dari. 

caelo  intra  triginta  dies  .  .  .  Olympo  intra  diem  tertium : 
Olympus  corresponding  to  the  city,  caelo  to  Italy,  in  the  case 
of  a  Roman  banishment.  According  to  the  theory  of  the  ten 
celestial  spheres,  of  which  Olympus  (regio  fixariim)  was  the 
first,  this  would  very  properly  require,  as  Fromond  observes, 
one-tenth  of  the  time  to  pass. 

pedibus  in  banc  sententiam  itum  est:  cf.  Livy,  xxvii.  34: 
[M.  LiviHs\  ant  verbo  adsentiebatur  ant  pedibus  in  senten- 
tiam ibat.  Here  the  celestial  senators,  seeing  no  further  need 
of  individual  expression,  simply  came  over  to  the  side  of  the 
last  speaker,  as  in  a  '^  division,"  discessio. 

nee  mora :  like  haud  mora,  an  expression  frequent  in  the 
poets.     Cf.  also,  e.g.,  Petron.  ^(),/in. 

Cyllenius :  from  his  birthplace  on  Mount  Cyllene,  Mercury, 
j/a;;(07ro/x7ro5. 

coUo  obtorto :  as  we  might  say,  "  seized  him  by  the  collar." 
Cf.  Plant.  Poen.  790  :  obtorto  collo  ad praetorem  trahor ;  simi- 
larly, Cic.  Ver.  Act.  II.  iv.  10,  obtorta  gtda,  etc.  ;  phrases  com- 
mon in  connection  with  the  leading  away  of  the  condemned. 


220  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  ii. 

trahit  ad  inferos  [a  caelo],  etc.:  The  mss.  as  well  as  the 
first  edition  have  ad  inferos  a  caelo  unde  negant,  etc.,  which 
is  evidently  wrong.  The  verse  in  Catullus  begins  with 
illuc  unde,  and  the  first  word  was  inserted  in  this  text  by 
Muretus  and  has  since  been  generally  given.  Each  of  the 
two  phrases,  ad  inferos  and  a  caelo,  has  been  rejected  as  a 
gloss.  Biicheler  and  Wehle  bracket  ad  inferos,  leaving 
a  caelo  illuc  unde,  etc.  Guasco,  Ruhkopf,  Fickert,  Schusler, 
Haase,  and  others  omit  a  caelo  and  give  ad  inferos,  illuc  unde, 
etc.  Quite  the  simplest  way  of  dealing  with  the  text,  how- 
ever, is  to  leave  the  line  from  Catullus  incomplete,  as  it  is  in 
the  MSS.  (since  there  is  really  no  reason  for  assuming  that 
Seneca  had  to  quote  the  whole),  and  regard  a  caelo  as  the 
gloss,  unless  indeed  we  prefer  to  suppose  that  the  two 
phrases  have  accidentally  exchanged  position,  and  originally 
read  :  trahit  a  caelo  ad  inferos,  unde,  etc. 

unde  negant  redire  quemquam:  from  Catullus,  iii.  12.  Cf. 
in  an  epigram  to  Priapus,  Meyer,  Anth.  Lat.  1704,  11 :  Unde 
fata  negant  redire  quemquam;  as  in  Hamlet's  soliloquy 
(Ham.  Act  iii.  Sc.  i)  : 

"  The  undiscovered  country,  from  whose  bourn 
No  traveller  returns." 

Cf.  also  Anacreon,  Ivi.  fin.,  cts  cavrov: 

'AtSeo)  yap  ecrrt  8ctvos 
Mv;(09,  dpyaXerj  8*  i<s  avTov 
Ka^o8o5  •   Koi  yap  troiyiov 
K-ara/SavTi  [Jltj  dvaPrjvai. 

12.  descendant  per  viam  Sacram:  distinctively  the  street 
of  processions.  As  to  the  direction,  there  may  be  a  reminis- 
cence of  the  allusion  in  c.  i  to  the  via  Appia,  which  was  a 
continuation  of  the  same  way.  Mercury  and  Claudius  were 
going  toward  the  spot  indicated  in  the  next  chapter,  inter 
Tiber im  et  viam  Tectam, 


c.  12.]  NOTES  221 

quid  sibi  velit  .  .  .  num  .  .  .  esset:  Note  the  colloquial 
confusion  of  tense  in  the  indirect  questions  after  the  historical 
present. 

impensa  cura,  plane  ut  scires  deum  efferri :  The  irony  of  this 
juxtaposition  needs  no  comment.  On  the  elaborateness  of 
Claudius's  funeral,  cf.  Suet.  Nero,  9:  Orsus  Nero  hinc  a 
pietatis  ostentatione,  Claudium,  apparatisswio  funere  elatum, 
Imidavit  et  consecravit ;  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  69:  caelestesque  ho- 
nor es  Claudio  decernunttir  ct  ftmeris  sollemne  peri7ide  ac  divo 
Augiisto  celebrahir,  ae??mlante  Agrippina  proaviae  Liviae 
magnificentia7n,  Herodianus  (iv.  2)  gives  an  extended  ac- 
count of  the  ceremonies  of  an  imperial  deification  of  the  time 
of  Septimius  Severus,  the  resemblance  of  which  to  that  of 
Claudius  may  roughly  be  assumed.  The  reading  of  the  editio 
princeps  here  is  impensa  car  a  plemtm,  etc. 

tubicinum:  The  reading  of  the  St.  G.  text  is  evidently 
preferable  to  the  tibicinum  of  the  other  MSS.  and  the  editio 
princeps,  from  the  generalization  which  immediately  follows, 
omnis  getter  is  aenatoriifu. 

aenatorum :  The  mss.  have  for  this  word  senatorum ;  Rhe- 
nanus's  conjecture  of  aeneatorum  is  a  very  evident  improve- 
ment. The  sonatoru?n  of  the  editio  princeps  is  simply  an 
ill-advised  effort  in  the  same  direction.  Properly,  according 
to  the  definition  of  aenafores  in  Festus  (ed.  Miiller,  p.  20, 
Pauli  Ex.),  cornicines  dicunttir,  id  est  cornu  canentes,  but  here, 
in  general,  players  upon  all  sorts  of  brass  instruments ;  vari- 
ously explained  in  the  glossaries  as  cornicines,  liticines,  tubi- 
cines,  Kv^iPaXoKpovaraL,  etc.  They  were  military  musicians ; 
cf.  the  use  of  the  word  in  Suet.  Caes.  32  and  Sen.  Ep.  84,  10. 
Cf.  P.  Cauer  in  EpA.  Epig.  IV.  374,  De  Muneribus  Militaribtis. 
On  \hecollegittm  aeneatoriim,  see  Mommsen,  Staatsr.  (3d  ed.), 
III.  p.  288.     Cf.  eg.  C.I.L.  X.  5173  and  5415. 

tantus  concentus :  ed.  prin.,  conventtis,  and  so  in  various 
editions. 

ambulabat  tanquam  liber :  Cf.  c.  i :  ego  scio  nie  liber um 
factum. 


222  THE   SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  12. 

Agatho :  apparently  one  of  the  causidici;  otherwise  un- 
known. The  name  is  that  of  an  unctuarius  in  Petron.  74, 
and  appears  frequently  in  inscriptions.  It  is  the  title  of  one 
of  Varro's  Menippeae^  the  fragments  of  which  are  insufficient 
to  give  much  idea  of  its  character.  Frag.  13  (ed.  Bucheler) 
reads,  quid  niulta  f  f actus  sum  vespertilw,  neqtie  in  rmiribus 
plane  neque  in  volucribus  suin^  which,  in  view  of  such  a  phrase 
as  advocati  nocturni  of  Petron.  15,  suggests  the  possibility  that 
Varro's  satire  may  be  related  to  the  same  subject,  the  causidici^ 
and  its  title,  Agatho^  stands  as  the  type  of  the  class. 

et  pauci  causidici  plorabant :  They  had  had  their  day.  Cf. 
Suet.  CI.  15  :  illud  quoque  a  maioribiis  natu  atidiebam,  adeo 
causidicos  patientia  eius  solitos  abuti,  ut  descendentem  e  tribu- 
nali  non  solum  voce  revocarent^  sed  et,  lacinia  togae  retenta, 
inter dum  pede  apprehenso,  detinerent.  Tac.  Ann.  xi.  5  :  nam 
cuncta  legum  et  magistratuu7n  munia  in  se  trahens  princeps 
materiam  praedandi  patefecerat. 

But  Claudius's  special  claim  to  the  regard  of  the  causidici 
was  his  abrogation  of  the  Lex  Cincia,  qtia  cavettcr  antiquitus 
ne  quis  ob  causam  orandam  pecuniam  donumve  accipiat.  After 
listening  to  the  arguments  of  the  professional  advocates,  tit 
minus  decora  haec^  ita  haud  frtistra  dicta  princeps  ratus,  capi- 
endis  pecuniis  statuit  modum  Usque  ad  dena  sestertia,  quern 
egressi  repetundarum  tenerentur  (Tac.  Ann.  xi.  5-7).  The 
business  of  the  causidici,  though  looked  down  upon  (cf.  Colu- 
mella, R.R.  praef.  lib.  i.,  sine  ludicris  artibus  atque  etia7n 
causidicis  olim  satis  felices  ftiere,  etc.),  was  notoriously  lucra- 
tive; cf.  Petron.  46;  Juv.  i.  32.  The  present  grief  of  the 
shysters  was  well  founded,  for  under  Nero  the  old  law  was 
soon  revived  (Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  5). 

Compare  in  Hor.  S.  i.  2  (init.)  the  similar  mourning  of  other 
classes,  quite  as  disreputable,  upon  the  death  of  a  benefactor ; 

^  *     *  3~4 '  hoc  genus  omne 

Maestum  et  sollicitmn  est  cantoris  morte  Tigelli. 

Rather  oddly,  Gellius,  xii.  2,  quoting  various  opinions  upon 


c.  12.]  NOTES  223 

Seneca's  own  style,  speaks  of  his  res  et  sententiae  as  character- 
ized by  a  causidicali  argiitia  (ed.  Hertz,  1885). 

sed  :  The  adversative  is  to  the  patcci ;  they  made  up  in  sin- 
cerity what  they  lacked  in  numbers. 

iurisconsulti :  legal  advisers,  who  appear  not  to  have  been 
in  great  request  under  the  caprices  of  Claudiuses  administra- 
tion. Their  profession  and  that  of  the  advocatus  were  more 
distinct  than  with  us  are  those  of  the  attorney  and  barrister. 

e  tenebris  :  Cf.  Hor.  Carm.  Saec.  57-59 : 

lam  Fides  et  Pax  et  Honos  Pudorque 
Priscus  et  neglecta  redire  Virtus 
Audet, 

turn  maxima :  This  is  the  reading  of  the  St.  G.  and  Val. 
Mss.  and  of  the  editio  princeps.  The  reading  commoner  in 
the  editions  is  cu?H?naxime,  as  in  Paris  8717. 

dicebam  vobis :  "  I  told  you  so." 

non  semper  Saturnalia  enint :  Note  the  parataxis  after  dice- 
bam. On  the  use  of  the  phrase,  cf.  note  on  Satiirnalicius^  c. 
8 ;  especially  cf.  Petron.  44 :  isti  maiores  maxillae  semper 
Saturnalia  agtint.  Otto  quotes  Lucian  de  Merc,  Cond,  16; 
oiti  yap  CIS  act  Atovixrta  coprao'ctv ;  and  the  German,  £s 
ist  nicht  immer  Kirmes.  We  say,  "Every  dog  has  his 
day." 

ingenti  fic^dXw  x^P'-'^^  •  The  tautology  has  condemned  the 
reading,  which  is  clearly  that  of  the  St.  G.  MS.,  in  the  minds 
of  some  of  the  editors,  who  have  adopted  the  correction  of 
Junius,  fi€ya\7jyopLa.  But  a  "  great  big  chorus  "  seems  alto- 
gether in  the  spirit  of  the  situation,  particularly  as  one  of  the 
adjectives  is  Greek. 

nenia  cantabatur  anapaestis :  Cf.  Suet.  Aug.  100 :  in  con- 
nection with  Augustus's  funeral,  canentibus  neniam  principu?n 
liberis  utriusque  sexus.  The  word  is  defined  in  Festus  (Paul, 
ex  Fest.  p.  61,  M.),  naenia  est  carmen  qtwd  in  funere  lau- 
dandi  gratia  cantatur  ad  tibia?n,  and  Cic.  de  Leg.  ii.  24,  62, 
honoratorum  virorum  laudes  in  contione  memorentur  easque 


224  ^-^^  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  12. 

etiam  cantus  ad  tibicinem  prosequatu7' ,  cm  nomen  neniae. 
Compare  the  verses  in  Mercury's  proclamation  in  Julian's 
Caesar es^  18.  The  anapaest  is  familiar  in  marching  time, 
and  the  anapaestic  dimeter  is  common  in  Seneca's  tragedies, 
edite  planctus :    Cf.  Sen.  Troad,  93-94 : 

Vacet  ad  crebri  verbera  planctus 
Furibunda  manus.    placet  hie  habitus. 

Cf.  also  id.  Thyest.  1049-1050 : 

pectora  illiso  sonent 
Contusa  planctu. 

After  these  words,  the  editio  princeps^  in  which  the  lines  are 
arranged  three  dipodies  long,  has  the  dipody,  fingite  mugi- 
tus.  This  is  not  in  the  St.  G.  and  Val.  mss.,  but  occurs  in 
some  of  the  later  ones,  and  either  in  this  form  or  that  of 
Rhenanus's  conjecture,  fingite  luctus,  appears  in  most  of  the 
editions.  It  might  possibly  be  an  instance  of  double  entente 
in  the  vford  fingite,  but  seems  on  the  whole  an  inept  interpo- 
lation. The  dirge  had  not  reached  the  stage  of  frankness  for 
saying,  "  counterfeit  sorrow." 

resonet  tristi  clamore  forum:  At  the  Forum  began  the 
march  toward  the  place  in  the  Campus  Martins  where  the 
pyre  was  burned  (Herodianus).  Bucheler  recalls  Appian, 
Bel.  Civ.  ii.  146,  telling  how  the  funeral  hymn  to  Caesar 
began  there  after  Antony's  oration. 

cecidit  pulchre  cordatus  homo:  Referring  to  such  a  butt 
of  ridicule  as  Claudius,  who  was  understood  to  have  died  of 
eating  poisoned  mushrooms,  the  irony  of  this  makes  a  good 
beginning.  On  the  adjective,  cf.  Ennius,  Ann.  335,  ap.  Cic. 
Tusc.  i.  9,  18:  Egregie  cordatus  homo,  cat  us  Aeliu'^  Sextus. 
(Same  ap.  id.  Rep.  i.  18,  and  De  Or.  i.  45.)  This  sense  of 
the  word  cor  is  commonest  in  the  anteclassical  poets. 

quo  non  alius :  Cf.  the  same  expression  below,  and  in  Ov. 
Met.  ill.  615,  similarly  with  a  comparative.  More  usual  is 
nemo  alius  or  alius  nemo. 


c.  12.]  NOTES  225 

fortior :  Cf.  Suet.  CI.  35 :  nihil  aeque  quam  timidtis  ac 
diffidens  fuit.  .  .  .  neque  convivia  inire  ausus  est  nisi  ut 
speculatores  cum  lanceis  circumstarent^  etc.     Cf.  Dio,  Ix.  2. 

citato  .  .  .  cursu :  On  his  halting  gait,  cf.  c.  i  and  c  5,  and 
notes. 

rebelles  fundere  Parthos:  On  the  troubles  with  the  Parthians, 
who  could  not  strictly  be  called  "  rebels,"  cf.  Tac.  Ann.  xii. 
44-51.  In  the  last  fight  with  them  recorded  in  Claudiuses 
reign  the  Parthians  were  victorious  over  the  Hiberi  (the  allies 
of  Rome),  but  atrox  hiems  sen  pariim  provisi  commeatiis  et 
orta  ex  utroque  tabes  perpellunt  Volugesen  [regem  Parthortim] 
omittere  praesentia  (ib.  50).  It  was  not,  however,  till  Nero^s 
time,  that  abscessere  Armenia  Part  hi,  tamqtiam  differ  rent 
bellum  (ibid.  xiii.  7). 

Persida:  i.e.  Persas.  Persia  for  the  Persians,  by  me- 
tonymy. 

certaque  manu :  Cf.  c.  6,  fin.  solutae  manus ;  Dio,  Ix.  2 : 
TO  §€  8^  <TU)fjja  vo(Tii)Sr)^  cJore  kol  .   .   .  rats  xcpcrlv  VTrorpe/xctv. 

pictaque  Medi  terga  fugacis  :  Ruhkopfs  explanation  of  this 
line  is,  pictis  sagidis  amicti,  aut  picta  scuta  in  terga  reiicientes 
fugiendo.  The  costumes  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  always 
excited  the  Graeco-Roman  imagination.  Cf.  Pers.  iii.  53 : 
Medi  bracati,  and  similar  allusions.  The  reference  here  is 
doubtless  to  the  well-known  fashion  of  flight  while  shooting 
their  arrows  backward,  which  was  especially  Parthian,  but 
not  here  precisely  discriminated. 

Britannos  ultra  noti  litora  ponti:  This  is  an  heroic  exag- 
geration, even  for  Claudiuses  time.  His  expedition  to  Britain, 
however,  was  in  some  respects  the  most  spectacular  achieve- 
ment of  his  reign.  Cf.  Tac.  Agric.  13-14,  reviewing  the 
earlier  relations  of  the  Britons  with  the  empire,  and  ib.  fin., 
Divus  Claudius  auctor  operis,  .  .  .  redactaqiie  paulatim  in 
for  mam  provinciae  proxima  pars  Britamiiae.  Suet.  CI.  17 
gives  Claudius's  personal  motive  for  the  expedition.  Compare 
also,  on  the  expedition  and  the  triumph  with  which  it  was 
celebrated,  Dio,  Ix.  19-23.  On  the  latter  part  of  the  war  in 
Q 


226  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  12. 

Britain,  after  Claudius  had  returned  to  Rome,  cf.  Tac.  Ann, 
xii.  31-40.  The  expedition  was  a  favorite  subject  of  epigram. 
Cf.  in  Meyer,  Anthol.  Lat.  762,  fin..  Qui  fitiis  mundo  est,  non 
erat  miperio,  and  others  there  given. 

Brigantas :  Though  these  for  a  time  stopped  fighting  (Tac. 
Ann.  xii.  32),  they  were  not  part  of  the  province  reduced  to 
actual  subjection  in  Claudius's  time,  but  were  conquered  by 
Vespasian.  Cf.  Tac.  Agric.  17,  where  the  Brigantum  civitas 
is  described  as  mcmerosissirna  provinciae  totius.  They  lived 
in  the  north  of  England. 

ipsum  .  .  .  tremere  Oceanum:  Cf.  Suet.  CI.  17,  inter  hostilia 
spolia  navalem  corona7n  .  .  .  traiecti  et  quasi  domiti  Oceani 
insigne.     Also  Meyer,  Anthol.  Lat.  765,  5-6 : 

At  nunc  Oceanus  geminos  interluit  orbesy 
Pars  est  imperii,  terminus  ante  fuit. 

Romanae  iura  securis  tremere:  Cf.  Caes.  B.G.  vii.  TJ, 
\Gallid\  securibus  subiecta,  and  Hor.  Carm.  Saec.  54,  Medus 
Alb  anas  timet  secures. 

non  alius  potuit  citius  discere  causas,  etc. :  Cf.  c.  7  and  10 
(^fin.)  ;  see  Introd.  p.  9,  on  Claudius's  taste  for  the  judgment 
seat.  Suet.  CI.  15  is  the  locus  classicus  ior  instances.  Facilius 
might  have  been  added  to  citius  in  reference  to  at  least  one 
judgment  there  recorded :  secundum  eos  se  sentire,  qui  vera 
proposuissent. 

una  tantum  parte  audita :  Cf.  Suet.  CI.  29 :  nee  defensione 
ulla  data.  Also  on  the  irregularities  of  Claudius's  condemna- 
tions, cf.  Dio,  Ix.  16  (init.). 

saepe  ne  utra  :  so  Bucheler,  edit.  min.  In  the  editio  prin- 
cepSy  saepe  et  neutra,  followed  by  most  of  the  editions.  Saepe 
neutra,  frankly  taken,  would  be  no  worse,  metrically,  than 
ultra  noti  above. 

tibi  iam  cedet  sede  relicta :  Minos,  acknowledging  himself 
outdone. 

populo  .  .  .  silenti:  Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  vi.  264,  umbrae  silentes, 
and  similar  instances. 


c.  13.]  NOTES  227 

Cretaea  tenens  oppida  centum :  Cf.  Hor.  Epod.  ix.  29 :  cen- 
tum nobileni  Cretam  urbibtis ;  id.  Carm.  iii.  27,  33 ;  similarly 
Homer,  //.  ii.  649,  Kprjrrjv  eKaro/XTroAtv. 

0  causidici,  venale  genus  :  See  note  on  causidici  above,  and 
especially  Tac.  Ann,  xi.  5,  7iec  qiiicqiiajn  .  .  .  tain  venale 
fnit  quam  advocatoruin  perfidia.  The  writer  concludes  with 
this  appeal  the  mock  glorification  of  Claudius's  judicial  ser- 
vices, which  followed  the  enumeration  of  his  achievements  as 
a  conquering  prince.  Here,  however,  the  temptation  to  an 
outburst  of  unconventional  frankness  introduces  two  more 
appeals  for  the  mourning  of  classes  who  had  profited  by 
Claudius's  weak  points.  Ve?iale  gemis  is  an  epithet  no  less 
biting  that  it  was  lawfully  applicable,  since  the  advocati  were 
authorized  to  take  payment  for  their  services  (Tac.  Ann. 
xi.  7).     Cf.  Petron.  14,  on  the  venality  of  courts  in  general. 

vosque  poetae,  etc. :  On  Claudius's  interest  in  literature,  cf. 
c.  5.  Cf.  Suet.  CI.  40-42  ;  also  Pliny,  Ep.  i.  13,  3,  on  his  will- 
ingness to  listen  to  other  writers.  Recall  his  production  at 
his  own  expense  of  a  Greek  comedy  in  honor  of  Germanicus, 
which  was  awarded  the  prize  by  the  decision  of  the  judges 
(Suet.  CI.  11).  The  satirist's  own  attitude  toward  X\iQ  poetae 
novi  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  Apoc.  c.  2. 

qui  concusso  magna  parastis  lucra  fritillo :  Cf.  Hor.  Carm, 
iii.  24,  58,  vetita  legibus  alea.  But  Claudius  aleani  studiosis- 
sinie  lusit,  de  cuius  arte  librutn  quoque  emisit  (Suet.  CI.  33). 
Cf.  ibid.  5  :  et  aleae  infainiam  subiit,  and  id.  Vitell.  4 :  Clati- 
dio  per  aleae  studium  fainiliaris.     See  cc.  14  and  15. 

13.  Talthybius  deorum :  Talthybius,  the  herald  of  Agamem- 
non in  the  Trojan  War,  was  proverbial  for  a  swift  and  zealous 
messenger.  Cf.  Plaut.  Stichus,  305,  where  the  hurrying  Dina- 
cium  says,  Contu?idam  facta  Talthybi  contemna?nque  omnis 
nuntios.  The  Talthybius  of  the  gods  was  evidently  Mercury. 
After  deorum  the  mss.  and  most  of  the  editions  have  the  word 
nuntius  (bracketed  by  Biicheler  and  omitted  by  Ruhkopf  and 
Schusler),  which  clearly  destroys  the  sense  and  must  be  a 
gloss. 


228  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  13. 

capite  obvoluto :  This  might  conceivably  be  an  allusion  to 
the  fact  mentioned  by  Dio  (Ix.  2)  that  Claudius  was  the  first 
Roman  to  go  in  a  litter  with  a  covering  over  his  head.  The 
motive  here  given  {ne  quis,  etc.)  was  only  one  of  several  pos- 
sible ones,  however,  for  an  act  that  was  common.  Cf.  e.g, 
Petron.  20  :  operuerat  Ascyltos  pallio  caputs  adjnonztus  scilicet 
periculosum  esse,  alienis  intervenire  secretis.  Men  covered 
their  heads,  as  now  they  would  pull  their  hats  down  over  their 
eyes,  lest  they  should  be  recognized,  or  indeed  to  keep  from 
seeing  something  distasteful,  or  to  conceal  their  own  expres- 
sion, as  Caesar  when  he  resigned  himself  to  his  assassins 
(Suet.  Caes.  82). 

inter  Tiberim  et  viam  Tectam :  at  the  northern  extremity  of 
the  Campus  Martius,  where  the  via  Tecta  (associated  with  the 
via  Flaminia  in  Martial,  viii.  75,  2 ;  cf.  id.  iii.  5,  5)  or  via 
fornicata  (cf.  Liv.  xxii.  36)  seems  to  have  been  a  species  of 
arcade  with  shops.  The  region  was  near  the  Mausoleum  of 
Augustus,  where  Claudius's  ashes  were  actually  laid  away. 
The  tale  of  his  descent  to  Hades  here  is  evidently  based  on 
the  popular  superstitions  connected  with  the  Campus  ignifer, 
the  Tarentum  or  Terentum  of  the  Ludi  Terentini,  and  the 
stor}^  told  by  Valer.  Max.  ii.  4,  5,  of  Valesius  the  Sabine  and 
his  sick  children.  Cf.  Zosimus,  Historia  Nova,  ii.  i  and  2. 
The  pool  fed  by  hot  springs  and  other  signs  of  volcanic 
action  had  originally  marked  the  spot,  and  here  was  the  Ara 
Ditis  patris  et  Proserpinae,  which  was  discovered  in  1886- 
1887  with  the  celebrated  Co^njnentarium  ludorum  saecularium 
{C.LL.  VI.  877;  Mon.  Antichi  Accad.  Line,  1891,  p.  618; 
Lanciani,  Rtmis  and  Exc.  p.  446).  Cf.  Festus  (ed.  M.  p. 
329),  s.v.  saeculares  ludi,  .  .  .  quod  populus  R.  in  loco  eo 
antea  sacra  fecerat  et  arani  quoque  Dili  ac  Proserpinae  conse- 
craverat^  in  extre7no  Martio  campo  quod  Terent2t7n  appellatur. 

The  locality  of  Claudius's  descent  into  Hades  seems  itself 
a  hint  at  his  antiquarian  propensities,  especially  after  his  cele- 
bration of  the  Ludi  Saeculares  {Terentini)  there,  at  a  date 
somewhat  open  to  criticism. 


c.  13.]  NOTES  229 

The  apparent  reading  of  the  editio  princeps,  viam  rectam, 
followed  by  some  of  the  editors,  is,  I  think,  an  imperfect 
imprint. 

compendiaria :  Sc.  via.  See  Lex.  for  similar  instances  ;  e.g. 
Varr.  Menipp.  Frag.  510  (ed.  BUch.),  hoc  dico,  cojnpendiaria 
sine  ulla  sollicitudine  ac  molestia  ducundi  ad  eandem  volupta- 
te7n  posse  perve7iiri.  The  nature  of  Narcissus's  short  cut  is 
indicated  in  Tac.  A7171.  xiii.  i. 

Narcissus  libertus  (Dessau,  Prosop.  N.  18):  This  was  one 
of  the  most  powerful  of  Claudius's  freedmen,  and  his  secre- 
tary ab  epistulis  (Suet.  CI.  28 ;  Dio,  Ix.  34 ;  cf.  inscr.  in 
Bull.  Com.  1886,  p.  104,  and  1887,  p.  10,  from  ih^ /istulae 
urbanae.  Narcissus  Aug.  I.  ab  epistulis) .  See  note  on  c.  1 1  for 
his  conspiracy  with  Messalina  against  Appius  Silanus.  For 
other  indications  of  his  wealth,  character,  and  acts,  cf.  Pliny, 
N.H.  xxxiii.  134;  Juv.  xiv.  329-331  ;  Dio,  Ix.  15,  16,  31,  33, 
34;  Zon.  xi.  10;  Tac.  xi.  29-38;  Suet.  Viiell.  2;  id.  Vesp. 
4;  id.  Tit.  2;  Sen.  Nat.  Quaest.  iv.  praef.  15;  Sid.  Apol.  v. 
7,  3.  He  has  been  commonly  supposed  to  be  the  Narcissus 
mentioned  by  St.  Paul,  Ep.  to  the  Rom,  xvi.  11.  Being  an 
opponent  of  Agrippina  (Tac.  Ami.  xii.  i,  2,  57,  65  ;  xiii.  i), 
he  was  out  of  the  way  at  the  time  of  Claudius's  assassination, 
having  been  forced  by  ill  health  to  go  to  the  watering-place 
of  Sinuessa  in  Campania  (Tac.  Ann.  xii.  66),  for  Dio  (Ix.  34) 
says  that  if  he  had  been  present,  Agrippina  could  not  have 
accomplished  her  design  against  her  husband.  After  Claudius's 
death,  Narcissus  was  summarily  disposed  of  (Dio,  ibid.,  and 
Tac.  xiii.  i),  after  having  prudently  destroyed  the  letters  ex 
epistulario  Claudiano.  As,  however,  he  did  not  go  by  way 
of  Olympus,  he  appears  to  have  got  to  Hades  ahead  of  his 
master.  After  libertus  the  edit.  prin.  has  the  words,  dominus 
domini,  an  evident  gloss. 

ad  patronum  excipiendum :  Compare  Silenus's  gibe  in 
Julian's  Caesares,  c.  6 :  "  You  shouldn't  have  brought  Clau- 
dius (to  the  banquet)  without  his  freedmen,  Narcissus  and 
Pallas,  to  take  care  of  him." 


230  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  13. 

ut  erat  a  balineo  :  i-e.  Sinuessa,  compared  to  the  ordinary 
morning  bath. 

celerius  :  "  Quick  ! "  for  celeriter ;  one  of  the  comparatives 
that  in  colloquial  use  have  somewhat  lost  their  comparative 
force.  Cf.  Petron.  20;  Vitruv.  viii  7.  The  edi'l.  prin.  has 
celerms  p?'aecedito,  2.ndi  so  Rhenanus.  Ruhkopf  and  others, 
following  a  doubtful  ms.  indication,  give  celerius  i.  Analogy 
with  our  idiom  leads  us  to  be  satisfied  with  the  adverb  alone. 
After  nuntia^  occur  in  the  edit.  prin.  and  some  of  the  later 
Mss.  (but  not  St.  G.  nor  Val.)  the  words,  Ille  autem  patrono 
plura  blandiri  volebat.  que7n  Mercurius  iterum  festinare 
iussit  et  virga  moraiitem  irnpidit. 

dicto  citius  :  a  familiar  expression.  See  Otto,  Sprichw. 
Cf  e.g.  Verg.  Aen.  i.  142 ;  Petron.  74. 

omnia  proclivia  sunt,  facile  descenditur:  Cf.  the  familiar 
facilis  descensus  Averno  of  Verg.  Aen.  vi.  126.  Seneca 
remarks  in  a  serious  work.  Be  Prov.  vi.  7,  nihil  feci,  inquit 
deus,  facilius  qua7n  mori.  prono  aniifiam  loco  posui.  Cf. 
Anthol  Pal.  x.  3  (auth.  incert.),  4: 

navToOev  els  6  (fteptDv  ets  dtSryv  avc/x,os. 

quamvis  podagricus  esset :  Hence,  doubtless,  his  visit  to  the 
watering-place. 

ad  ianuam  Ditis :  Cf  Verg.  Aen.  vi.  127. 
ut  ait  Horatius  :    Carm.  ii.  13,  34 : 

.  .  .  ubi  illis  car  minibus  stupens 
Detnittit  atras  belua  centiceps 
Aures^  etc. 

This  epithet,  for  the  usually  three-headed  Cerberus  (cf.  Hor. 
Car?n.  ii.  19,  31)  is  explained  according  to  the  schohasts  by 
Hor.  Carm.  iii.  11,  17: 

Cerberus^  quamvis  furiale  centum 
Muniant  angues  caput  eius^  etc. 


c.  13.]  NOTES  231 

VergiPs  account  is  the  most  familiar,  Aen.  vi.  417-423. 
Hesiod,  however,  gives  Cerberus  fifty  heads  (Theog.  312). 

After  behia  centiceps  in  the  edit,  prin,  are  the  words,  sese 
movens  villosque  horrendos  exctitiens,  which  do  not  appear  in 
any  of  the  best  mss.  and  seem  to  be  a  late  effort  to  enhance 
the  picturesqueness  of  the  description,  villos  being  apparently 
from  the  following  villosum, 

pusillum  perturbatur  .  .  .  subalbam  canem :  so  in  the 
St.  G.  MS.  and  in  BUcheler.  Most  of  the  editors,  following 
the  edit.  prin.  and  some  of  the  later  mss.,  shift  the  sub^  pre- 
fixing it  to  perturbatur  rather  than  albam.  Note  the  genders, 
album  canem  .  .   .  canem  nigrum. 

sane  non  quern  veils  tibi  in  tenebris  occurrere  :  cf,  Juv.  v.  54 : 

Mauri 
Ei  cui  per  mediam  nolis  occurrere  noctem. 

There  is  apparently  a  play  on  the  meaning  of  toiebris.  Seneca 
as  well  as  Vergil  knew  how  to  deal  with  Cerberus.  Cf.  his 
De  Const,  Sap.  14,  tamquam  [quisquam']  canefn  acrem 
obiecto  cibo  leniet. 

Before  cum  plausu  many  of  the  editions,  following  the 
edit,  prin.,  which  has  venit,  ecce  extemplo,  give  venit  et 
ecce  extejnplo,  but  the  additional  words  are  not  in  the  best 

MSS. 

cvp'^Ka^cv  o-v-yxo-'P^H-^v :  This  is  the  MS.  reading  as  re- 
stored by  Nic.  Faber.  BUcheler  changed  to  avyxoitpofxevy  in 
the  exact  form  of  the  ritualistic  acclamation  of  Osiris  in  the 
annual  celebration  of  his  return,  the  Egyptian  phallus  festival 
which  came  in  November.  I  have  preferred  to  keep  the 
subjunctive  of  the  codices.,  thinking  this  free  adaptation  of  the 
formula  in  itself  quite  as  fitting  and  likely  as  the  exact  recita- 
tion of  it  which  BUcheler  seems  to  assume  was  Seneca's 
intention.  If  any  such  copyist's  blunder  is  to  be  supposed  as 
he  implies,  the  reverse  one  would  have  been  easier  to  under- 
stand, i.e.  from  an  original  subjunctive  of  the  author's,  back 
to  the  common  formula. 


232  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  13. 

Athenagoras  (^Legatio  pro  Christianis^  c.  19)  says,  describ- 
ing the  religion  of  the  Egyptians,  [They  call]  Tr]v  [xkv  tov 
(TLTOV  (TTropav  "OcTLpLV'  oOtv  <f>a(Ti^  /xvcTTtKcas,  CTTt  Trj  oLvevpecreL 
TOJv  fxeXiov  ^  rCiv  Kapiriov  iTnXexOrjvaL  Trj  *I(rt8t  tvprjKafxtv 
o-vyxatpo/xev.  Similarly  lulius  Firmicus.Maternus  V.C.  in  his 
De  Err  ore  Profanarum  Religionum  (C.  2  aquae  cultum 
aptid  Aegyptios  reftitat)  gives  an  account  of  the  Osiris  myth 
and  quotes  tvp-qKafxev  (Tvyxo-Lpofxevy  with  a  Christian  exhorta- 
tion. Compare  also  allusions  in  Herod,  iii.  27  ;  Lactant. 
lib  i.  de  Falsa  Relig,  21 ;  Minuc.  Fel.  Octav.  22 ;  Rutilius 
Claudius  Namatianus,  De  Reditu  suo  Itinerarium^  i.  375,  6. 
It  is  to  the  same  cry  that  Juvenal  refers  in  (viii.  29)  : 

Exclamare  libet,  populus  quod  clamat  Osiri 
InventOy 

which  is  commonly  understood  to  indicate  the  rejoicing  when 
a  new  Apis,  as  an  incarnation  of  Osiris,  was  found  to  replace 
an  old  one  dead.     Cf.  Pliny,  N,H.  viii.  46,  184. 

How  far  Seneca  intended  the  implication  to  be  carried, 
from  his  borrowing  a  cry  of  joy  over  the  discovery  of  a  bull 
for  the  welcome  of  Claudius  in  Hades,  may  be  left  to  conjec- 
ture. One  must  not  try  to  make  even  an  Apis  metaphor  go 
on  all  fours.  Recall  the  curious  comment  upon  the  Osiris 
ritual  quoted  by  St.  Augustine  {De  Civ.  Dei,  vi.  10)  from 
Seneca^s  lost  book,  de  Superstitione  (Introd.  p.  44). 

To  this  welcome  by  the  injured  souls  in  Hades  has  been 
compared  the  passage  in  Shakespeare's  Richard  III.,  i.  4, 
beginning  "  Clarence  is  come,"  etc. 

C.  Silius:  (Dessau,  Pros  op.  S.  505)  luventutis  Romanae 
pulcherrimus  (Tac.  Ann.  xi.  12).  As  consul  designatus  47 
A.D.  he  had  taken  the  lead  in  the  senatorial  request  for  the 
enforcement  of  the  Lex  Cincia,  which  Claudius  saw  fit  to  abro- 
gate (Tac.  Ann.  xi.  5-6).  But  he  is  chiefly  noted  as  the 
paramour  of  Messalina,  for  whom  he  put  away  his  own  wife, 
lunia  Silana,  and  by  whose  favor  he  was  made  consul  desig- 
natus.    For  the  account  of  Messalina's  bigamous  marriage 


c.  13.]  NOTES  233 

with  him,  48  a.d.,  see  Tac.  Ann.  xi.  26-35  7  ^iii*  ^9  \  Suet. 
CL  26,  29,  36;  Dio,  Ix.  31;  Zon.  xi.  10.  Cf.  the  evident 
allusion  in  Juv.  x.  330 : 

elige^  quidnam 

Suadendum  esse  potes,  cut  nubere  Caesaris  uxor 

Destinat. 

The  name  of  C.  Silius  is  omitted  in  the  edit,  firin. 

luncus  praetorius :  corrected  by  Sonntag  from  the  tradi- 
tional reading,  Junius  Praetorius  {edit,  prin.,  etc.)»  by  com- 
parison with  Tac.  Ann.  xi.  35,  where  he  is  named  luncus 
Vergiliamis  senator. 

Sex.  Traulus :  Traulus  Montanus,  eques  Romanus,  ruined 
by  Messalina  (Tac.  Ann.  xi.  36). 

M.  Helvius  :  otherwise  unknown. 

Trogus:  Saufeius  Trogus  (Tac.  Ann.  xi.  35). 

Cotta :  otherwise  unknown. 

Vettius  Valens:  {Prosop.  V.  343)  He  was  a  physician  as 
well  as  eques ;  cf.  Scrib.  Larg.  94 ;  Pliny,  A^.//.  xxix.  8 : 
novam  instituit  sectam.  He  was  among  the  lovers  of  Messa- 
lina (Tac.  Ann.  xi.  30;  Pliny,  JV.//.  xxix.  i  (8),  20),  and 
it  was  he  who  at  the  nuptials  of  Silius  climbed  the  tree  and 
saw  the  tempestatem  ab  Ostia  atroce?n  (Tac.  Ann.  xi.  31,  35). 

Fabius :  otherwise  unknown. 

Mnester  pantomimus :  {Prosop.  M.  462)  From  C.I.L.  VI. 
20,139,  which  is  probably  his  sepulchral  inscription,  we  infer 
that  he  was  a  freedman  of  Tiberius :  Ti,  lulio  \  Aug.  I.  \ 
Mnesteri.  He  was  a  favorite  with  Caligula  (Suet.  Cal.  36, 
55,  57;  Dio,  Ix.  22).  Messalina  obtained  his  compliance 
by  getting  Claudius  to  command  him  to  do  whatever  she 
required  of  him  (Dio,  ibid. ;  Zon.  xi.  9;  cf.  Dio,  Ix.  28). 
On  his  death,  cf.  Tac.  Ann.  xi.  36,  and  Dio,  Ix.  31. 

decoris  causa:  Cf.  Tac.  Ann.  xi.  36:  pronum  ad  miseri- 
cordiajn  Caesarem  perpidere  liberti,  ne  tot  inlustribtis  viris 
interfectis  histrioni  co7isideretur. 

minorem  fecerat :  i.e.  in  Procrustean  fashion. 


234  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  13. 

Biicheler  says  {edit.  min.)^post  ^feceraf*  nonnulla  videntur 
intercidisse.  Considering  the  rapid  style  of  the  enumeration 
this  hardly  seems  necessary  to  suppose ;  many  of  the  edi- 
tions, however,  have  inserted  nee  non.  The  edit.  prin.  has : 
fecerat.  Nee  non  Messalinam,  without  ad.  The  present 
arrangement  is  better  than  that  in  BUcheler's  earlier  edition, 
which  connected  ad  Messalinain  with  minorefn  fecerat^  or 
than  the  common  way  of  making  ad  Messalinam  depend  on 
percrebruity  which  forces  an  unusual  meaning  from  this 
latter  word. 

ad  Messalinam:  She  was  the  natural  centre  for  the  fore- 
going group.  As  to  the  liberti^  we  do  not  know  so  well.  Cf. 
Zon.  xi.    10    (as    Dio,    Ix.    31)  :    ecos   ykv   yap    ol   Katcrapctot 

7raVT€S  iJfXOVOOVV  CLVTyJ,  Ovh\v  TjV  6  OVK   OLTTO  KOtVrj<S  yVtU/Xr^S    CTTOt- 

ovv  iwel  Be  tov  HoXv/Slov,  KacroL  KaKCLvta  TrXrjcna^ovcra,  SU- 
fiaXe  Kol  GLTreKTeLvevy  ovkIt  avrrj  eTrto-rcuov,  koI  lprjfX(siOei(Ta 
TTj^  Trap  avrCjv  evvotas  i<l>Odprj.  The  occasion  of  the  deaths  of 
the  four  other  liberti  here  mentioned  is  not  known.  Biicheler 
suggests  possibly  the  conspiracy  of  Asinius  Gallus,  46  a.d. 
(Suet.  CI.  13;  Dio,  Ix.  27). 

Polybius:  Claudii  libertus  {Prosop.  P.  427).  Cf.  Zonaras 
and  Dio,  above.  It  was  he  to  whom  Seneca  had  addressed 
the  doubtless  regretted  Consolatio  ad  Polybium,  from  Corsica. 
Cf.  Suet.  CI.  28 :  ac  super  hos  [libertos  suspexit']  Polybiuin  a 
studiis,  qui  saepe  inter  duos  consides  ambulabat ;  cf.  Aurel. 
Vict.  Epit.  iv.  8 :  Polybium  inter  consules  mediutn  ificedere 
fecit.  He  was  apparently  also  a  libellis.  (Cf.  Consol.  ad 
Polyb.  vi.  5  :  audienda  sunt  \tibi'\  tot  hominum  milia,  tot  dispo- 
nendi  libelli.)  On  his  power  and  witty  impudence,  cf.  Dio, 
Ix.  29. 

Myron :  otherwise  unknown. 

Harpocras :  Cf.  Suet.  CI.  28  :  libertorum  praecipue  suspeocit 
,  .  .  et  Harpocran^  cui  lectica  per  urbem  veheftdi  spectacii- 
laque  public e  edendi  ius  tribuit.  He  was  probably  the  same 
as  mentioned  in  C.I.L.  VI.  9016:  Arpocras  Aug.  lib.  procu- 
rator, etc. 


c.  13.]  NOTES  235 

Amphaeus,  Pheronactus :  persons  unidentified.  The  sec- 
ond name  is  Bucheler's  reading  for  various  forms  in  the 
MSS. :  pheronaotus  (St.  G.),  pheronatlus^  pheronatius. 

In  the  edit.  prin.  three  more  are  mentioned,  and  the  pas- 
sage reads:  liberti  Myron,  A7npyronas,  A?npaeuSj  Phero- 
nas,  Posides  hasta  pura  insignis,  Felix  aim  Pallaftte  fratre, 
Harpocras,  Poly  bins  qtios  omnes  Claudius  quaestoriis  praeto- 
riisque  muneribus  ubi  impertitus  esset,  praemiserat.  The 
addition,  Posides  .  .  .  fratre,  not  only  lacks  ms.  authority, 
but  Pallas  at  least  was  still  living  (Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  2 ;  xiv. 
65),  and  in  favor  with  Agrippina.  The  three  names  are  all 
found  in  Suet.  CI.  28,  and  the  interpolator  evidently  was  un- 
willing that  such  well-known  types  should  be  left  out  of  the 
satire.     Cf.  Pliny,  Ep.  viii.  6,  on  Pallas. 

necubi  imparatus  esset:  Cf.  c.  3,yf«. 

lustus  Catonius :  He  had  been  primi  ordinis  centurio  in  the 
Pannonian  army  under  Tiberius,  14  a.d.  (Tac.  Ann.  i.  29), 
and  praefectiis  praetor io  in  43.  Cf.  Dio,  Ix.  18 :  Karoivtov 
'lovcrrov,  tov  tc  Sopv<t}opLKov  ap^ovra.  koI  STj\Ct)(raL  tl  avT(a 
[i.e.  to  Claudius]  Trept  tovtidv  [i.e.  her  vices]  iOeXiijaavTa, 
7rpoSu<l>0eLp€  [Messalina] .    He  knew  too  much. 

Rufrius  Pollio :  In  the  St.  G.  MS.  this  is  rqfii/s  (corrected 
to  rtifiiis)  pomfiliiis,  and  it  is  given  by  many  editors,  Rufus 
Pojnpeii  f{ilius) .  Cf .  Dio,  Ix.  23  :  *Fov<t>pLQ)  8c  Stj  II(dXlo)vl 
TO)  lirapxiD  uKOva  kcll  eSpav  iv  to)  ISovXcvtlkw,  ocraKt?  av  €s  to 
avviSpLov  auTo)  crweaLrj.  This  was  44  A.D.  It  was  Reimar's 
conjecture  (Hirschfeld,  Verwaltungsgesch,  p.  220)  to  Dio,  that 
this  is  the  same  man  mentioned  in  the  Apocolocyntosis .  He 
had  been  made  a  prefect  by  Claudius  in  the  year  41.  Dessau 
{Prosop.  R.  123)  cites  also  Joseph.  Antiq.  lud.  xix.  4,  5  : 
.  .  .  KttT*  CTTwrroXas  ncoA.6a)vo5  ov  fxiKpS  irporepov  KAavSto? 
(TTpaTtjyov  rjprjTO  Toiv  (ToyfxaTOfjyvXoLKijJV. 

amici :  These  personal  associates  of  the  emperor,  taken 
from  among  the  senators,  the  comites  peregrinationum  ex- 
peditionumqney  who  came  in  time  to  have  a  definite  official 
station,  still  occupied  a  relation  to  the  emperor's  office  some- 


236  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  13. 

what  ill-defined.  Under  Augustus  it  was  entirely  so.  See 
Suet.  Aug.  56,  66  (and  in  ed.  Ernest.  Excursus  xv).  Cf. 
Tac.  Ann.  iii.  13 ;  Suet.  Ner.  5 ;  id.  Galba^  7,  where 
Galba  is  mentioned  as  receptus  in  cohortem  amicorum 
[Claudit] .  See  also  Friedlander,  Sittengesch.  Roms,  I-  ^33  •^^^• 
(6th  ed.). 

Saturninus  Lusius:  Tac,  Ann.  xiii.  43,  mentions  Lusius 
Saturninus  among  the  alleged  victims  of  P.  Suillius  under  the 
Claudian  regime.  Cf.  C.I.L.  III.  2028  (an  inscription  found 
at  Salonae),  vv.  8  and  9 :  Q-  EVTETIO  |  LVslO-  SATVrNlNO. 
M.  SEIO.  VERANO.  COS.     Their  precise  date  is  unknown. 

Pedo  Pompeius :  Cf.  c.  14.  Otherwise  unknown,  unless 
the  Pompeius  Urbicus  mentioned  in  Tac.  Ann.  xi.  35,  is  the 
same. 

Lupus:  Cornelius  Lupus  {Prosop.  C.  1145),  also  mentioned 
in  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  43,  as  one  of  those  ruined  by  the  intrigues 
of  Suillius.  Under  Tiberius  he  was  proconsul  of  Crete,  as 
shown  on  Cretan  coins,  k-m.  'Kop^vrjXtov)  Av(Trov).  Cf. 
Eckhel,  Doct.  Vet.  Num.  I.  ii.  p.  302.  He  was  consul 
suffectus  42  A. D.  Cf.  Gaius,  iii.  63 :  Lupo  et  Largo  con- 
sulibus. 

Celer  Asinius:  Sex.  Asinius  Celer  {Prosop.  A.  1012)  is 
mentioned  by  Frontinus  (de  Aquis,  ii.  102)  as  consul  a.d.  38 ; 
he  was  cons,  suffectus.  He  is  mentioned  by  Pliny,  N.H.  ix. 
17,  67,  for  the  extravagant  price  he  paid  for  a  mullet.  (Cf. 
Macrob.  Sat.  iii.  16,  9.)  As  brother  of  Asinius  Callus,  he  may 
have  been  ruined  by  some  participation  in  his  conspiracy. 

fratris  filia:  Julia,  daughter  of  Germanicus;  cf.  c.  10. 

sororis  filia:  Julia,  the  daughter  of  Livia  by  Drusus;  cf. 
c.  10. 

generi:  L.  Silanus  and  Pompeius  Magnus ;  cf.  cc.  8,  10, 11. 

soceri :  Appius  Silanus  and  Crassus  Frugi,  who  was  strictly 
consocer  oi  Cl^MdSMS, '.,  cf.  c.  11. 

socrus :  This  similarly  refers  both  to  Claudius's  real  mother- 
in-law,  Domitia  Lepida,  Messalina's  mother,  who  was  removed 
by  the  jealousy  of  Agrippina  (Tac.  Ann.  xii.  64;  cf.  id.  xi. 


c.  14.]  NOTES  237 

37),  and  his  consocrus,  Scribonia,  mother  of  his  son-in-law 
Magnus  ;  cf.  c.  11. 

agmine  facto ;  a  phrase  with  somewhat  the  aspect  of  our 
"lining  up."  Seneca  uses  the  same  in  Ep.  104,  19,  but  in  a 
more  similar  ironic  manner  is  iam  ebriae  mulieres  longum 
agmen  plaudentes  fecerant  (Petron.  26). 

irdvTa  <)>CX,a)v  TrX-fipT] :  Claudius  does  not  recall  that  anything 
has  come  between  them.  Some  of  the  editors  have  seen  in 
these  words  a  reminiscence  of  the  saying  of  Heraclitus,  Travra 
^caiv  irXrjpr).  Cf.  Diogenes  Laertius,  ix.  i,  6,  where  Heraclitus 
is  quoted  thus :  koL  Travra  ij/vx^v  etvai  kol  SaL/xoviDv  TrXrjpyj. 
But  in  Seneca's  time  the  source  of  the  quotation  was  perhaps 
not  so  far  to  seek. 

quomodo  hue  venistis  vos  ?  On  Claudius's  oblivio,  see  note 
on  ties  do  ^  inqnis^  c.  11. 

in  ius :  as  we  say,  "  to  justice." 

sellas  :  curule  chairs  of  the  magistrates,  especially  the  prae- 
tors ;  here  referring  particularly  to  the  judgment-seats,  as  we 
speak  of  "  the  bench." 

14.  ad  tribunal  Aeaci:  Quam  paene  uidicantem  vidimus 
Aeacum!  (Hor.  Carm.  ii.  13,  22).  Guasco  recalls  how  Plato 
{Gorgias^  5 24 A)  specifies  that  Aeacus  was  judge  of  the  Euro- 
peans who  came  to  Hades,  while  Rhadamanthus  attended  to 
the  Asiatics.  Seneca  at  least  conforms  to  tradition  in  bringing 
Claudius  before  the  former.  The  third  judge  was  Minos;  cf. 
Verg.  Aen,  vi.  432,  quaesitor  Minos,  Cf.  Propert.  Eleg. 
iv.  II: 

Aut  si  quis  posita  index  sedet  Aeacus  urna 

In  mea  sortita  iudicet  ossa  pila, 
Assideant  fraires,  e.q.s. 

The  comic  interest  of  the  situation  is  evidently  the  close  parody 
in  Hades  upon  the  usual  Roman  legal  procedure  before  a  prae- 
tor, and  the  citing  of  a  well-known  Roman  enactment  as  the 
basis  of  proceedings  in  the  world  below. 

lege  Cornelia  .  .  .  de  sic-»ri's :  a  law  of  the  Dictator  Sulla, 


238  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c,  14. 

enacted  A.u.c.  671,  de  sicariis  et  veneficis .  Cf.  Inst.  iv.  18,  5  : 
Lex  Cornelia  de  sicariis^  quae  homicidas  ultore  ferro  persequi- 
tur^  vel  eos  qui  hominis  occidendi  causa  cum  telo  ambulant. 
.  .  .  eadetn  lege  et  veiiefici  capiti  da77tnantur  qui  artibus 
odiosis  tarn  venenis,  vel  susurris  7nagicis  homines  occiderunt^ 
etc.     Cf.  Cic.  Cluent.  54,  55,  57;  Dig.  xlviii.  %^  passim. 

postulat,  nomen  eius  recipiat :  This  is  the  reading  of  the  St. 
G.  and  Val.  MSS.  Many  of  the  editions  have  recipi',  the  edit, 
prin.,  recipit.,  aedit^  etc.  It  is  the  request  by  the  accuser  that 
the  magistrate  take  up  the  case,  [///]  nomen  recipiat.  See 
Bouch^-Leclerc,  Institutions  Ro^naijtes,  s.v.  subscriptor. 

subscriptionem :  the  formal  written  accusation,  to  which  the 
accuser  was  required  to  place  his  signature,  subscription  accord- 
ing to  Dig.  xlviii.  2,  7 :  Si  cui  crimen  obiciatur  praecedere 
debet  in  crimen  subscription  quae  res  ad  id  invent  a  est,  ne  facile 
quis  prosiliat  ad  accusationeT^t,  cum  sciat  inultam  sibi  non 
futurajn.  Here  the  stibscriptio  stands  for  the  whole  docu- 
ment. Cf.  Sen.  de  Belief,  iii.  26,  2 :  qumn  .  .  .  subscrip- 
tionem co7nponeret.  Pedo  Pompeius  is  here  the  one  cui  .  .  . 
accusatio  subscriptiove  in  reu7n  per77iittatur  (Cell.  ii.  4,  i). 

occisos  senatores  XXXV,  equites  R.  CCXXI,  ceteros  6<ra,  etc. : 
The  reading  of  the  St.  G.  <:^^(?:r  (according  to  Biicheler ;  for  a 
different  account,  see  Schenkl  and  others)  is  senatores  XXX 
equites  r.  V.  caeteros  CCXXI  ocra,  etc.  That  of  the  cod.  Val. 
is  similar.  The  edit.  prin.  reads :  Seftatores  XXX  Eq.  Ro. 
CCCXV.  at  que  plures :  caeteros  CCXXI,  the  Greek  being 
omitted.  Similarly  Ruhkopf  and  Schusler :  seftatores  XXX 
Equites  Ro7n.  CCCXV  at  que  plures:  ceteros  cives  ocra, 
etc.,  cives  being  a  conjecture  of  Sonntag  for  the  apparently 
redundant  CCXXI.  Haase's  text,  apparently  from  a  misread- 
ing of  the  St.  G.  MS.,  has  senatores  XXX  equites  R.  CC. 
ceteros  CCXXI "^  ocra,  etc.,  and  Fickert's  the  same  without 
the  asterisk.  Suet.  CI.  29,  says  :  In  qui7ique  et  trigi7ita  se7ta- 
tores  trecentosque  a77iplius  equites  Ro77ianos  ta7ita  facilitate 
ani7nadvertity  ut^  etc.  Bucheler's  reading  is  based  upon  the 
assumption  —  which  in  part,  at  least,  is  a  conjecture  of  Rhe- 


c.  14.]  NOTES  239 

nanus  —  that,  in  copying,  the  numbers  in  the  manuscript  be- 
came displaced,  so  that  V  is  to  be  pushed  back  with  XXX^ 
and  CCXXI  with  eqidtes  R.j  leaving  very  reasonably  the  su- 
perlative oo-a,  etc.,  with  ceteros. 

Besides  the  ten  out  of  the  thirty-five  senators  who  are  men- 
tioned in  the  Apocolocyntosis,  L.  Silanus,  Crassus,  Magnus, 
Appius  Silanus,  Silius,  luncus,  Saturninus  Lusius,  Pedo  Pom- 
peius.  Lupus,  and  Celer  Asinius,  Biicheler  gathered  the  following 
names  :  Camillus  Scribonianus  (Tac.  Hist.  ii.  75),  Annius  Vini- 
cianus  (Dio,  Ix.  15),  Q.  Pomponius  (Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  43),  Cae- 
cina  Paetus  (Pliny,  Ep.  iii.  16),  Statilius  Corvinus  (Suet.  CI. 
13),  Valerius  Asiaticus  (Tac.  A7in.  xi.  3 ;  cf.  ibid.  xiii.  43), 
Statilius  Taurus  (Tac.  Ann.  xii.  59),  M.  Vinicius  (Dio,  Ix. 
27),  and  Scribonianus,  the  son  of  Camillus  (Tac.  Ann.  xii. 

52)- 

Tac,  Ann.  xiii.  43,  speaks  of  the  equitum  Rofnanorum 

agmina  damnata  under  Claudius. 

So-a  \|/d}ia66s  t€  K6vts  tc  :  These  words  form  the  end  of  //.  ix. 
385.  In  the  edit,  prin.^  before  advocatum  come  the  words, 
Exterritus  Claudius  oculos  undecutnque  circumfert,  vestigat 
aliquem  patronum  qui  se  defenderet,  which  are  lacking  in  the 
Mss.,  and  apparently  were  interpolated  to  effect  a  natural 
change  of  subject  to  Claudius  before  invenit.  Ruhkopf  and 
Schusler  retain  them,  and  Fickert  and  Haase  within  brackets. 
Gertz,  however,  suggests  ille  before  advocatum^  as  more  easily 
dropped  after  kov  1%  tc. 

P.  Petronius:  (Dessau,  Prosop.  P.  198)  Consul  Suffectus 
A.D.  19,  and  later  proconsul  of  Asia.  The  fact  that  he  had 
flourished  twenty  and  thirty  years  before  (cf.  Tac.  Ann.  iii. 
49  and  iv.  45)  explains  the  vetus, 

vetus  convictor  :  In  the  glosses,  (Tvvea-TuiTwpy  etc.  Cf.  c  3, 
/lis  .  .  .  convict  or  ibus. 

Claudiana  lingua  disertus  :  Cf.  c.  5,  non  intellegere  se  linguam 
eius,  etc.     See  Introd.  p.  6. 

postulat  advocationem :  P.  Petronius  demands  perhaps  the 
advocacy  of  Claudius's  case ;  but  probably  advocatio  here  is 


240  THE  SATIRE    OF  SENECA  [c.  14. 

to  be  taken  in  the  special  sense  of  the  postponement  or  stay 
of  proceedings  often  asked  for  in  order  that  the  accused  might 
consult  his  advocatus,  and  prepare  his  case  for  the  court.  Cf. 
Cicero's  jocose  remark  {Ep.  ad.  Fam.  vii.  11.  i),  ego  omni- 
bi^s,  unde  petitur,  hoc  consilii  dederim,  ut  a  singulis  interre- 
gibus  binas  advocationes  postulent.  Satisne  tibi  videor  abs  te 
ius  civile  didicisse?  Seneca  frequently  uses  the  word  in 
nearly  the  general  sense  of  dilatio.  Cf.  De  Ira^  i.  18.  i  ;  iii. 
12.  4;  Ad  Marciarn  de  Console  x.  4;  Nat.  Quaesf.  wii.  10.  i. 

incipit . . .  velle  respondere  :  See  Introd.  p.  69.  Cf.  Petron. 
9:  coepit  mihi  velle  pudorem  extorquere;  ibid.  70,  coeperat 
Fortunata  velle  saltare ;  ibid.  98,  incipe  velle  servare. 

altera  tantum  parte  audita :  Cf.c.  12,  una  .  .  .  audita,  2ind 
c.  10,  fin. 

atK€  irdOoi  rd  t'  epejc,  SCkt]  k*  I0€ta  *y^voito  :  an  expression  of 
rudimentary  justice  ascribed  to  various  sources.  Leutsch 
{Paroemiographi  Graeci,  Gottingen,  1839)  gives  it  in  his 
Appendix  Proverbiorum,  112,  p.  396,  thus:  et  /ce  iroBoi^  to. 
y  Ipe^e,  hiK-q  8*  lOeia  yei/oiTo,  and  an  account  of  its  sources. 
Aristotle  {Eth.  Nic.  v.  5.  3)  quotes  it  as  to  'PaSa/xai/^vos 
SiKatov,  beginning,  ctKc  iraOoi.  Michael  Ephesius,  in  a  note  to 
Aristotle,  ascribes  it  to  Hesiod.  Julian  gives  it,  beginning 
aiK€  iraSri,  {Caesares,  c.  12,  fin.,  p.  314,  ed.  Spanh.),  and  as- 
cribes it  to  the  Delphic  oracle. 

Cf.  Dio,  Ix.  16:  KXavStos  Se  ovro)  irov  irpos  rrjv  TLfxoipiav 
rrjv  T€  iKeiviDv  kol  tyjv  t(x)v  olAAcdv  ccr^ev,  ware  kol  crvvOrjiJa 
TOts  (TTpaTLOiTais  TO  CTTOS  TovTO  (rwe;j(a)s  StSoi/at,  ort  )(prj 

^A]/8p'  dirafJivvao-OaL  ot€  rts  irpoTepos  xaXcTTT^vjy, 

the  verse  being  from  the  Iliad,  xxiv.  369.  Leutsch,  Par.  Gr., 
compares  sententiam  notissimam  Aeschyl.  apud  Strobaeum, 
Eclogg.  Phys.  I.  4,  24:  Spd(TavTL  yap  tol  kol  iraBdv  oc^et'Aerat. 
Claudio  magis  iniquum  .  .  .  quam  novum :  referring  not,  of 
course,  to  the  proverb,  the  application  of  which  could  not 
be  called  iniquum,  but  to  the  altera  tantum  parte  audita 
condemnat. 


c.  14.]  NOTES  241 

de  genere  poenae  diu  disputatum  :  The  Cornelian  law  is  evi- 
dently forgotten,  the  penalty  which  it  provides,  deportatio  et 
honor um  ademptio  {Digest,  xlviii.  8.  5),  being  naturally  ill- 
adapted  to  execution  under  present  circumstances. 

erant  qui  dicerent,  si  nimium  diu  laturam  fecissent,  Tanta- 
lum siti  periturum,  nisi  illi  succurreretur :  The  St.  G.  ms. 
reads,  sium  diu  laturam  fecissent^  etc.  Cod.  Val. :  si  uni 
dii  laturairi  fecissefit.  Bucheler's  reading  is,  era7it  qui  dice- 
refit^  Sisyphum  satis  diu  latura?n  fecisse,  Ta7ittilurn  siti,  etc., 
which  he  explains  in  Rh.  Mus.  13,  p.  ^%oseq.  The  edit,  prin. 
gives :  si  mimes  dii  latura  fecissent  Tantalum  .  .  .  siiccurre- 
retur.  Non  unquam  Sisyphum  onere  relevari,  Aliquando 
IxioniSy  etc. 

The  clause,  non  unquam  Sisyphiun  onere  relevari^  though 
repeated  by  the  editors  generally,  and  even  thought  genuine 
by  Orelli,  who  noted  its  absence  from  the  St.  G.  ms.,  is  not 
given  in  any  of  the  best  mss.,  and  seems  an  evident  interpola- 
tion from  the  reference  to  Sisyphus  in  the  next  chapter. 
Haase  brackets  the  clause,  and  Bucheler  omits  it. 

For  the  first  clause  after  dicerent  Ruhkopf  and  Schusler  give 
si  uni  dii  laturam  fecissent ;  Fickert,  si  uni  di  laturam  fecis- 
sent ;  Haase,  si  unius  \diei'\  dilaturam  fecissent,  with  which 
cf.  Junius,  si  uni  dilatura?n  fecissent.  Passing  over  the  more 
venturesome  conjectures  of  some  of  the  earlier  critics  (Rhena- 
nus,  semidii  larvafn  facesseret ;  Fromond,  si  minus  immor- 
talem  dii  naturam  fecissent ;  Gronovius,  si  uni  dii  gratiam 
fecissefit;  Neubur,  siu7ii  dii,  etc.,  with  statim  catalogo  damna- 
torum  inscribi  posse  inserted  before  it;  Orelli,  Titytan  iam 
diu  vultures  pavisse ;  Curio,  better,  nisi  unius  diei  iacturam 
fecisse7tt),  most  of  the  readings  are  based  on  the  text  of  the 
Val.  and  inferior  group  of  mss.,  si  uni  dii,  etc.  On  the  basis 
of  the  St.  G.  reading  is  BUcheler's,  which  makes  Sisyphiun 
out  of  sium,  inserts  satis  bodily,  and  shortens  fecissent  to 
fecisse.  The  importance,  as  he  considers  it,  of  having  at 
least  three  of  the  veteres  enumerated  here,  because  of  the  ?//// 
instead  of  utri  or  alterutri  to  follow,  does  not  seem  to  me 

R 


242  THE  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  [c.  14. 

very  great.  The  speaker  may  very  well  refer  to  two  and  be 
thinking  of  the  whole  list.  Biicheler's  Sisyphus  here  looks 
almost  as  much  like  an  interpolation  from  below  as  did  the 
rejected  non  unquam  Sisyphum  onere  relevari.  Even  were 
his  reading  otherwise  to  be  retained,  I  would  substitute 
niniium  for  the  satis  which  he  inserts.  Its  omission  after  the 
preceding  word  with  the  same  ending  would  be  more  easily 
accounted  for. 

To  my  reading  of  the  passage  there  is  the  apparent  gram- 
matical objection  that  the  two  conditional  clauses  alike  modify 
Tantalum  siti  periturum.  But  this  I  am  inclined  to  take  as 
an  instance  of  colloquial  tautology  which  may  not  have  been 
unintentional  on  the  part  of  the  writer.  It  helps  to  convey  the 
effect  of  confused  suggestion  on  the  part  of  the  disputants. 
See  Introd.  p.  69,  and  compare,  especially  in  c.  10,  videris 
luppiter  an  in  causa  .  .  ,  si  aecus  futurus  es. 

laturam:  On  plebeian  forms  in  -ura^  see  Cooper,  Word 
Formation  in  the  Latin  Sermo  Plebeius^  p.  27.  The  word 
is  here  used  in  its  general  sense  of  enduring;  otherwise  it  is 
not  specially  apt  for  the  suffering  of  Tantalus.  It  was  in  late 
Latin  that  it  became  a  common  commercial  term  for  the  work 
or  (jiopcrpov  of  a  porter  (taturarius,  freq.  in  St.  Augustine). 

Ixionis  miseri  rotam  sufflaminandam :  For  allusions  to  the 
well-known  punishment  of  Ixion,  cf.  Ovid,  Met.  iv.  460 ; 
Verg.  Aen.  vi.  601.  Su^amino,  from  sufflamen  (cf.  Juv. 
viii.  148,  Ipse  rotam  astringit  sufflamine  mulio)^  presumably 
was  a  carter's  word.  Its  use  in  Sen.  Controv.  iv.  praef.  is 
evidently  intended  as  a  rough  and  vigorous  metaphor. 

ex  veteribus :  So  the  St.  G.  and  Wolf,  mss.,  and  Bucheler 
(ed.  1864)  and  Haase ;  the  Val.  MS.,  veteris ;  edit,  prin.^ 
Ruhkopf,  Fickert,  and  Bucheler  {edit,  min.),  veteranis. 

alicuius  cupiditatis  spem :  The  reading  of  the  best  mss.  is 
spes.  Bucheler  and  Haase  give  speciem,  which  is  an  emenda- 
tion of  SchefFer's.  Rhenanus  gave  specimen  ;  Curio,  species, 
followed  by  many  of  the  editors,  including  Ruhkopf  and 
Fickert.      Schusler  gives   the   MS.   reading,   which   is   quite 


c.  15.]  NOTES  243 

explicable ;  but  for  the  sake  of  the  accusative  singular,  with 
ciipiditatis^  I  venture  spe?Ji.  Palaeographically  considered,  this 
may  easily  have  disappeared  through  the  form  spe  sine,  etc. 

sine  fine  et  effectu :  This  is  the  reading  common  to  most  of 
the  editions.  Biicheler  and  Schusler,  following  the  St.  G. 
MS.,  have  si?te  effectu.  The  Val.  MS.  has  sine  fine  effectus ; 
Wolf.,  sine  fine  et  effectus.  Sine  fine,  as  Fromond  pointed 
out,  would  be  an  easy  dittography,  but  it  is  impossible  to  say 
which  blunder  the  copyist  was  more  inclined  to  produce,  that 
or  the  contrary  one  of  omitting  fine  after  sine.  (See  Ross- 
bach,  p.  31.)  Recalling,  e.g.  Verg.  Aen.  ii.  771,  sine  fine 
furenti,  and  the  tendency  here  both  to  literary  parody  and  to 
burlesque  of  legal  repetitiousness  (cf.  eg),!  have  preferred 
the  traditional  reading. 

alea  ludere:  Cf.  c.  12,  fin.,  and  references  on  Claudius's 
fondness  for  gambling. 

pertuso  fritillo :  Cf.  the  proverbial  pertusum  dolium  of  the 
Danaids  ;  Plant.  Ps,  369  :  In  pertussum  ingerimus  dicta 
dolium ;  so  also  tov  Ttrprjixivov  ttlOov,  Luc.  Dial.  Mort.  xi.  4. 
Cf.  Apollod.  ii.  I,  5  ;  Find.  N.  10.  Similarly  Lucret.  iii.  936 
(ed.  Brieger)  : 

Si  non  omnia  pertusum  congesia  quasi  in  vas 
Co7nmoda  perfluxere,  etc. 

fugientes  semper  tesseras  quaerere  :  Although  this  perform- 
ance is  compared  below  to  that  of  Sisyphus,  it  has  more 
resemblance,  not  only  to  that  of  the  Danaids,  but  in  some 
of  the  lines  to  the  Tantalus  myth,  as  expressed,  e.g.,  in  Hor. 
S.  i.  1,68-69: 

Tantalus  a  labris  sitiens  fugientia  capiat 
Flumina. 

15.  subducto  .  .  .  fundo :  Rousseau  includes  in  his  trans- 
lation a  reference  to  the  Danaids  : 

Du  cornet  dSfonce,  panier  des  Danaides, 
II  sent  couler  les  dSs ; 


244  '^^^  SATIRE   OF  SENECA  ,        [c.  15. 

and  at  the  end  he  ingenuously  replaces  the  comparison  to 
Sisyphus  with  another,  at  some  length,  of  an  athlete  who 
throws  his  arm  out  of  joint  by  striking  at  his  rival  and  missing 
him :  fat  pris  la  liberie  de  stibsiituer  cette  comparaison  a  celle 
de  Sisyphe  employ te  par  Senlque^  et  trap  rabattue  depuis  cet 
auteur. 

auderet :  Claudius  is  by  this  time  intimidated,  as  well  as  dis- 
couraged. Arderet^  however,  has  been  proposed  (Palmer i 
inventuui^  t.  Gertz) . 

mittere  talos:  Cf.  Mart.  xiv.  16: 

Quae  scit  compositos  manus  improba  mittere  talos ^  etc. 

In  Hor.  S,  ii.  7,  17,  the  act  is  reversed :  mitteret  in  phimum 
talos. 

lusuro :  So  the  mss.  and  the  editions  generally,  including 
Bucheler's  edition  of  1864.  In  his  editio  tninor  it  is  changed 
tofusuro.  Wehle,  in  1862,  cast  doubt  upon  the  line,  objecting 
to  lusuro  similis  because  he  says  Claudius  is  actually  lusurus^ 
and  to  petenti  because  it  requires  an  object.  The  objections 
do  not  seem  on  the  whole  sufficient.  If  actually  about  to 
"  play  "  the  dice  {lusuro),  Claudius  would  have  been  succeed- 
ing better  than  he  did,  and  the  object  of  petenti  is  clearly 
enough  understood. 

apparuit  subito  C.  Caesar :  On  Caligula's  treatment  of  Clau- 
dius, cf.  Suet.  Cal.  23 :  nam  Claudiu7n  patruum  non  nisi  in 
ludibrium  reservavit ;  also  id.  CI.  8  and  9  for  particular  in- 
stances, and  38  on  Claudius's  pretence  of  stupidity ;  id.  JVero, 
6;  Dio,  Ix.  3;  id.  lix.  23. 

ilium  viderant  ab  ipso  .  .  .  vapulantem :  The  Ms.  reading 
gives  ab  illo ;  the  repetition  of  ilium,  illo,  is  plainly  objection- 
able, and  Bucheler,  who  keeps  it,  brackets  the  first.  But  this 
seems  needed  as  the  object  of  viderant  with  vap7ilantem^  and, 
especially  after  petere,  illu?n  is  better  than  ab  illo  referring  to 
Gains,  the  principal  subject.  Mahly  suggests,  testes  qui  olim 
viderant  ab  ipso  .  .  .  vapulantem.  ipso  can  be  adopted 
without  olim,  to  which  there  is  no  need  of  changing.     There 


c.  15.]  NOTES  245 

may  be  some  allusion  to  the  familiar  use  among  slaves  of  ipse 
for  the  master  of  the  house. 

flagris,  ferulis,  colaphis  vapulantem :  evidence  that  Gaius 
had  habitually  treated  Claudius  as  his  slave.  The  colaphi^s 
(K6XjCL(t>os)y  about  as  colloquial  a  word  as  our  verb,  to  "  cuff," 
describes  a  kind  of  treatment  especially  shameful  to  bear.  As 
to  vapu/anUm,  cf.  vaptdare  in  c.  9. 

is  Menandro  liberto  suo  tradidit :  Menander  was  a  not  very 
uncommon  freedman's  name.  But  it  is  not  unlikely  that,  as 
Blicheler  thinks,  the  writer  here  means  the  great  Athenian 
comic  poet.  His  life  on  earth  having  been  spent  in  exposing 
the  foibles  of  men,  he  now  figures  as  the  assistant  of  the  judge 
of  the  dead. 

ut  a  cognitionibus  esset :  an  office  here  first  mentioned. 
Cf.  Hirschfeld,  Verwaltiingsgesch.  I.  p.  208,  note  4;  see  also 
Mommsen,  Staatsr.  II.  p.  965,  note  2  (3d  ed.).  The  later  offi- 
cials, a  cognztiofiibiis,  were  of  higher  rank,  but  under  the  early 
emperors  the  functions  here  represented  as  performed  by  a 
slave  were  exercised  by  imperial  freedmen.  The  office  had  to 
do  with  the  investigation  of  cases  outside  the  ius  ordmarmm. 

Claudius  is  thus  not  only  very  appropriately  consigned  to 
his  destiny  as  forever  subject  to  the  orders  of  a  freedman,  but 
he  is  also  condemned  to  a  kind  of  legal  drudgery  quite  accord 
ing  to  his  habit,  laborem  irritum^  etc.  The  rapid  and  sum- 
mary fashion  in  which  at  the  end  (cf.  Introd.  p.  54)  Claudius 
is  '^  shaken  down  "  from  one  situation  to  another,  only  empha- 
sizes the  contemptuousness  of  his  treatment. 


INDEX 


[To  the  pages  of  the  Introduction  and  Notes] 


Acilius  Aviola,  155. 

adquiescunt  .  .  .  poetae,  162. 

advocationem,  239. 

Aeacus,  54,  237. 

Aeduans,  Qaudius's  speech   on, 

14,  15,  167. 
Aelius  Saturninus,  satire  of,  48. 
aenatorum,  221. 
Agatho,  222. 
agmine  facto,  237. 
Agrippina,     her      marriage     to 
Claudius,    12,    40,   41,    194, 
211,  215. 

and  his  death,  17. 

her  appreciation  of  the  Apoco- 
locyfttosisj   19,  39,  40. 
atKe  TrddoL  rd  t'  epe^e  Kri.,  240. 
Albertus  Pius,  92,  93. 
Alexandriae,  192. 
alogia,  68,  69,  184. 
Amandi,  Codex,  88. 
dfia  Trpdaata  Kal  dwio'a'Uj  198. 
amici,  235. 
Amphaeus,  235. 
animam  agere,  163. 
animam  ebulliit,  70,  172. 
annis  vixi,  72,  180. 
anno  novo,  155. 
Apocolocyntosis  : 

a  caricature,  16. 


Apocolocyntosis  [continued]  — 
its  motive,  19. 
as  a  reHgious  tract,  20-22. 
its  authorship,  23  seq. 
Hterary  estimates  of,  24-25. 
unworthy  of  Seneca,  27  seq, 
and  the  Consol.  ad  Polyb.^  24, 

26,  31-37- 
an  affront  to  the  Caesars,  37-40. 
and  Seneca's  opinions,  41-45. 
its  style,  45,  64  seq. 
unmentioned  by  Latin  authors, 

46. 

mentioned  by  Dio  Cassius,  48. 
applicability  of  the  name,  49 

seq.,  96,  99. 
lacuna  in  text,  53,  188. 
its  end,  54  seq. 
an  epithet  ?  56. 
as  Menippean  satire,  58  seq, 
hastily  composed,  66. 
syntax  of,  71. 
verse  in,  73. 
manuscripts  of,  86  seq. 
editions,  86,  92  seq. 
its     place     among     Seneca*s 

works,  104. 
Apollo,  17,  156. 
Apotheosis    .    .   .  per    satiuram, 

58,  87»  92. 


247 


248 


INDEX 


Appiae  viae  curator,  158. 

Arar  dubitans,  185. 

Aristophanes,  16,  21,  78. 

dpovpa,  200. 

Asinius  Celer,  236. 

Asinius  Marcellus,  155. 

Assarionem,  215. 

Atellanae,  21. 

Athenis,  192. 

Atropos,  169. 

auctoratos,  201. 

auctorem,  174. 

Augeae,  cloacas,  188. 

Augurinus,  66,  168. 

Augusta,  diva,  203. 

Augustine,   St.,   quotes    Seneca, 

20,  44,  232. 
Augusto  (mense),  187. 
Augustus,    his  early  opinion  of 
Claudius,  7,  8,  9,  205,  206. 

his  speech,  10,  65,  66,  67,  73, 
76,  205  seg. 

his  funeral,  158. 

Claudius's    relationship,    203, 
205,  210. 

his  jRes  Gestae,  206. 
aurea  .  .  .  saecula,  169. 
auriculam,  70,  72,  202. 
Ausonius,  on  Claudius,  1 1. 

imitation  of  the  Apoc,  Z^,  161. 
axes,  primos,  171. 

Baba,  66,  166. 
Baccho,  viso  senescere,  161. 
Baillard  on  the  word  Apoc.f  51. 
balineo,  230. 
belua  centiceps,  230. 
bene  canum,  174, 
Benejiciis,  De,  43,  89. 
Birt  on  authorship  of  the  Apoc», 
25,  52,  54. 


Boissier  on  Z'  apotheose  imperiale, 
22. 
estimate  of  the  Apoc.y  24. 
on  Seneca's  opportunism,  30. 
on  Spanish  influence  in  Rome, 
42. 
boleti,  17,49,  173. 
Boxhorn,  54. 
Brigantas,  226. 
Britannia,  195. 
Britannicus,  19,  39. 
Britannos,  167,  225. 
bucca,  69,  157. 

Biicheler,  de  Ti.  Claudio  Caesare 
grammaticOy  14. 
collations  of  Mss.  of  the  Apoc, 

87  seq.,  99. 
editions  of  the  Apoc,  98,  99, 
ei  passim. 
Byron,    Vision  of  Judgmenty  84, 

85. 

caeli  scrutatur  plagas,  195. 

Caligula,  3,  18,  38,  156,  157,  213. 

canem  subalbam  . . .  nigrum,  231, 

canis  adsidit,  207. 

capite  obvoluto,  228. 

capsulam,  168. 

carcere,  171. 

carpebat,  67,  161. 

Catonius,  Justus,  235. 

Catullus,  quoted,  220. 

causidici,  15,  188,  222,  227. 

celerius,  72,  230. 

censeo,  200,  204, 

Cerberus,  230. 

cert  a  clara  affero,  159. 

Cicero,  60,  69,  79,  81. 

Cincia  lex,  222,  232. 

civilia  bella  compescui,  206. 

civitate  donaret,  15,  167. 


INDEX 


249 


civitatulas,  70,  202, 

clarius,  217. 

Qaudius,  his  funeral,  I,  221. 

authorities  for  his  life,  3. 

his  character,  3-6. 

his    physical    appearance,    6, 

174,  I75»  176,  183,  225. 

his  defective  speech,  6,  7,  173, 

175,  185,  216,  239. 

his  absent-mindedness,  7-9, 
174,  212,  237. 

as  a  judge,  9,  66, 187,  211,  218, 
226,  227,  240. 

his  literary  interests,  10,  13, 
14,  29,  177,  203,  227. 

his  gambling,  li,  227,  243-245. 

his  lack  of  independence,  11, 
12,  55,  78,  168,  184. 

unfairly  treated,  13,  16. 

de  Vita  Sua^  13,  177. 

his  authorization  of  lawyers* 
fees,  15,  222. 

and  the  extension  of  citizen- 
ship, 15,  41,  167. 

Seneca's  allusions  to,  else- 
where, 43. 

worshipped     in    Britain,    77, 

195. 
his  death,   17,  155,  161,  162, 

163,  165,  166,  173. 
his  secular  games,    155,    165, 

228. 
descendant  of   Aeneas,    178; 

Augustus,  203,  205,  210. 
Divus,  203,  211,  217. 
his  voracity,  204. 
on  revenge,  240. 
dementia^  De,  44,  90. 
Clotho,  66,  164,   166,   167,  168, 

169. 
cluo,  69,  185. 


cognitionibus,  a,  245. 
colaphus,  69,  245. 
collo  obtorto,  219. 
colloquialisms,  68  seq, 

grouping  of,  72. 
comoedos  audit,  17,  173. 
compendiaria,  229. 
concacavi,  69,  173. 
conceptis,  verbis,  159. 
Consolatio   ad  Polybium^   8,  24, 

26,  3i-37»  56. 
contulerim,  187. 
cor  nee  caput  habet,  190. 
cordatus  homo,  224. 
Cornelia,  lex,  237,  241. 
corpus  eius  dis  iratis  natum,  216. 
Cotta,  233. 
Crassus  Frugi,  40,  213,  214,  215, 

218,  236. 
Cretaea  tenens  oppida,  227. 
Crispus  Passienus,  43. 
cruciatus  cesset,  165. 
Cruttwell  on  the  Apoc,^  24* 
cubiculo  suo,  194. 
cucurbitae,  51,  52. 
Cunaeus,  79,  81  seq. 
Curio,  C.  S.,  91,  96. 
curva  corriget,  194. 
Cyllenius,  219. 
Cynthia,  160. 

Danaids,  243. 
decoUare,  70,  184. 
dede  neci,  etc.,  166. 
Develay,  V.,  100. 
dicto  citius,  230. 
Diderot,  on  Claudius,  4. 

on  Seneca,  29. 

on  the  Consol.  adPolyb.,  35,  36. 
diem  obiit,  156. 
Diespiter,  11,  15,  65,  76,  201, 


250 


INDEX 


diminutives,  70,  72,  167,  168. 
Dio  Cassius,  on  Qaudius,  3,  5,  etc. 

allusion  to  the  Apoc,  23,  25, 
48  seq. 

on  Seneca,  27. 

on  the  Consol,  ad  Poly  b.^  36, 56. 
Ditis,  ad  ianuam,  230. 
Druids,  215. 
Drusilla,  18,  157. 

iyyiov  y6w  KV^firjSf  98,  209. 
editio  princeps  of  the  Apoc,  86, 

91,  92  seg.y  102,  et passim, 
efFerunt,  165. 
Ennius,  21,  58,  59,  60. 

quoted  in  heaven,  195,  203. 
*E7riKOi^petos  ^e6s,  lo,  189. 
Erasmus,  82,  95. 

his  edition  of  Seneca,  96,  99. 

his  Adagia,  99,  100,  157,  218. 
eip'fiKajxev  (ru7xa^/>w/xev,  44,  23 1. 
Euripides'     Cresphontes    quoted, 

63,  172. 
ex  quo,  156,  165. 

fabam  mimum,  199. 
Faber,  Nic,  96. 
Fabius,  233. 

facile  descenditur,  (63),  230. 
facile,  tam,  quam,  207. 
factus  dictus  pictusve,  200. 
facundia  (Augusti),  205. 
fallit  laborem,  170. 
famam  mimum  fecisti,  199, 
Farrar  on  the  Apoc,  24. 
fatuari,  70,  184. 
fatuum,  8,  40,  156,  215. 
fecit  illud,  171. 
Felix,  205. 

ferrum  suum  in  igne,  67,  204. 
fessas  habenas,  73,  163. 


Febris,  5,  7,  50,  67,  68,  72,  179, 

180,  182,  183. 
Fickert,  edition  of  Seneca,  98. 
fingite  luctus,  224. 
forum  .  .  .  resonet,  224. 
freedmen  of  Claudius,  1 1,  12,  36, 

56,  67,  78,  229,  234,  235,  etc. 
Friedlander  on  the  Apoc,  24,  etc, 
fritillo,  227,  243. 
Fromond,  scholia,  97. 
Fulgentius  Planciades,  79. 
fusos,  168. 

Gains  Caesar,  54,  213,  244.  Vid. 

Caligula. 
Gallio,  L.  Junius,  48,  50. 
Gallos,  167. 
Galium,  181,  186. 
Garat   on   Seneca's   philosophy, 

30- 
Gellius  on  Seneca's  style,  68. 
generi,  213,  218,  236. 
Graecos,  167. 
Graeculo,  176. 

Guasco,  edition  of  the  Apoc,  97, 
Guelferbytanus,  Codex,  88. 

Haase,  on  the  style  of  the  Apoe^^ 

45. 
edition  of  Seneca,  98. 
Harpocras,  234. 
Havet,  on  the  Apoc.y  24,  34. 

on  the  literary  conscience,  41. 
Heinsius,  D.,  46,  51,  96,  loi,  etc, 
Helvius,  233. 

Hercules,  6,  9,  10,  21,  54,  63, 64, 
65,  67,  68,  72,  73,  95,  179, 
185,  188. 
and  St.  Peter,  85, 
dXe^//ca/fOS,  175. 
his  labors,  176. 


INDEX 


2SI 


Herodianus  on  apotheoses,  221, 

224. 
Hesperus,  171. 
Hispanos,  167. 
historico,  157. 
historiis  (Claudii),  177. 
Homer,  verses  from,  10,  63,  80, 

176,  178,  198,  200,212,239. 
Homericus,  aeque,  loi,  178. 
honores  autumni,  160. 
Horace,  63,  66,  230. 
horam  eius,  1 66. 
(horam)  inter   sextain  et  septi- 

mam,  162. 
horologia,  162. 

Ilienses,  178. 

*IXi6^6i'  /AC  (pipiaVj  178. 

imposuerat,  70,  179. 

Inachia  urbs,  185. 

incest  i,  191. 

incipit  .   .   .  velle    respondere, 

240. 
inferos,  ad,  220. 

ingenti  /xc7(£Xy  xo/>tfV>  69,  223. 
initio,  155. 
intellegi,  magis,  161. 
intermundia,  82. 
irascitur,  Qaudius,  183. 
iratus  fuit  uxori,  212. 
Ixionis,  242. 

ianitor,  6,  65,  174. 

Janus,  65,  75,  76,  197,  198. 

Jerome,  St.,  27. 

Julian,  his   Caesares,  li,  38,  74, 

78,  82,  176,  190,  200,  229, 

240. 
luHas,  duas,  210,  236. 
lulio  mense,  187. 
luncus,  praetorius,  233. 


lunia  Calvina,  192. 

Junius,  H.,  49,  51,  96. 

Juno,  192. 

iunonia  monstra,  103,  105. 

Jupiter,  21,  22,  65,  76,  179,  196. 

nedum  ab  love,  191. 

luppiter   ...   in   causa  .  .  . 
tua,  211. 

iratus  .  .  .  uxori,  212, 
iuratores,  157. 
iurisconsulti,  223. 
ius  dicebam,  187. 
Juvenal,  satires  of,  60. 

Ka^(rapes.  Vid.  Julian. 
Klebs,  on  the  Apoc,  25, 
Ko\oK(fVT7jy  51,  54. 

Lachesis,  169. 

Laruis,  200. 

laturam,  241,  242. 

laudatio  funebris,  I. 

legibus  urbem  fundavi,  63,  206. 

liberum  factum,  156. 

Licinus,  182. 

Lindemann,  on  the  authorship  of 

the  Apoc.f  25,  45. 
Lipsius,  his   Somniumf  79  seq., 
loi,  177,  196. 

commentator  on  ApoCy  91,  96. 

editions  of  Seneca,  97. 
Li  via,  7,  203,  205,  206. 
Livius  Geminius,  18,  158. 
Livy,  on  the  origin  of  satire,  58. 
Lodge,  Thomas,  loi, 
Lucan,  Pharsalia^  83. 
Lucian,  satires,  38,  74  seq. 

Dialogues  of  the  Dead,  74. 

Dialogues  of  the  Gods,  75. 

Q^Qiv  *EKK\r)(rlaj  75  seq, 

Nero,  77,  170. 


252 


INDEX 


Lucifer,  171. 

Lucilius,  scepticism  of,  21. 

Satires,  59,  60. 
Lucretius  on  the  popular  mythol- 
ogy, 21. 
luctatur,  cum  anima,  165. 
Ludus  de  Morte  Claudii,  2,  92, 
98,  155,  etc. 
objections    to    this    title,   57, 

70. 
Vid.  Apocolocyntosis. 
Lugudunenses  scire  debes,  etc., 

183. 

Luguduni  natus  est,  loi,  180. 
Lugudunum,  site  of,  185. 
Lupus,  236. 

Mabillon,  Acta  Sanctorum,  etc., 

85,  86,  159. 
Mackail  on  the  Apoc,  24. 
Magnus,    Pompeius,    213,    214, 

218,  236. 
manus,  gestu  solutae,  183. 
manus  manum  lavat,  67,  204. 
mapalia,  70,  196. 
Marci  municipem  vides,  180. 
Mariangelus  Accursius,  94. 
Martial,  69,  89. 
Martianus  Capella,  79. 
mathematicos,  165. 
Medi,  picta  .  .  .  terga,  225. 
mehercules,  166,  190. 
Menander,  54,  245. 
Menippean  satire,  58  seq, 
revived,  79  seq. 
Tres  Satyrae  Menippgae,  82. 
Menippus,  59,  60,  74,  82. 
mentis  suae  non  est,  185. 
mera  mendacia,  180. 
Mercury,  17,  164,  168,  227. 
Messala  Corvinus,  63,  207. 


Messalina,  her  death,  9,  12,  13, 
212. 

flattered  by  Seneca,  36. 

her  crimes,  39,  195,  210,  217, 
232,  233. 

related  to  Augustus,  212. 

in  Hades,  234. 
Metamorphoses  of  Ovid,  203,  204. 
minari,  174. 
Minos,  226,  237. 
Mnester,  195,  233. 
monstra  timuerit,  176. 
Morgan,  Forrest,  translator,  loi. 
mulio  (perpetuarius),  69,  183. 
mures  ferrum  rodunt,  184. 
mures  molas  lingunt,  193. 
muscam  excitare,  207. 
mutatur  .  .  .  metallo,  169. 
Myron,  234. 
Mythologicon  of  Fulgentius  Plan- 

ciades,  79. 
fXiopoO  eiiXdrov  rvx^Tv,  1 95. 
ficjpov  TrXriy/if  9,  185. 
Mwpwv  iirayda-raa-LSf  8,  48. 

Narcissus,  2,  12,  18,  217,  229. 
narrat,  180;  narro,  18 1. 
natum  putavit,  166. 
nenia,  65,  74,  223. 
Nero,  and  the  funeral  oration,  i, 
37»  203. 

and  Claudius,  3,  19,  39, 48, 49, 
50. 

poem  on,  17, 18, 59,  65, 168  seq. 

Neronian    hypothesis   for  the 
Apoc.f  19  note. 

Seneca's  pupil,  28. 

in  Lucian's  dialogue,  77,  170. 

his  Quinquennium,  155,  (171). 

Apollo- like,  169,  170. 
nescio,  inquis,  212. 


INDEX 


253 


Nest  oris  annos,  169. 
Neubur,  edition  of  the  Apoc,  97. 
nimis  rustice  !  etc.,  162, 
notae  Tironianae,  198. 
notarius,  198. 
not  or,  69,  186. 
novi  generis  fades,  176. 
novo  more,  9,  16,  176. 
Numa,  22. 

nummulariolus,  70,  202. 
nuntiatur,  174. 

Nuptiis  Philologiae  et  Mercurii, 
De,  79. 

oblitus  nugarum,  1 86. 
Oceanum,  226. 
Octavia,  40,  210,  218. 
Octobris,  idus,  155,  161. 
Olympus,  77,  188,  219. 
Orelli,  collation  of  St.  Gall  MS., 

87,  98. 
oro  per  quod,  191. 
ortum,  160. 

5(ra  \l/dfjLa66i  re  k6vi$  re,  239. 
Osiris,  44,  (77),  231,  232. 
Ovid,  81,  203,  204. 
ovo  ovum  (simile),  218. 

Pallas,  235. 

irdtn-a  <pl\(jjv  TrXiJpi;,  237. 

parataxis,  71. 

Parcae,  164,  170. 

Paris    Mss.    of   the    Apoc,    89, 

90. 
Parthos,  rebelles,  225. 
passibus  acquis,  non,  63,  158. 
pedem  dextrum,  175. 
pedibus  in  hanc  sententiam  itum 

est,  219. 
peregrinos  in  semen,  168. 
Fersida,  225. 


Petronius    (Arbiter),    Satiricon, 
46,    58,    59»    62,    64,    88, 
99. 
phraseology  from,  51,  69,  71, 
etc. 

P.  Petronius,  239. 

Pheronactus,  235. 

philologos,  177. 

philosophos,  161. 

Phoebus,  160,  163,  170. 

Pieria  .  .  .  lauro,  169. 

planctus,  224. 

Plancus,  L.  Munatius,  180. 

plena  manu,  172. 

Pliny  the  Elder,  citation  of  Clau- 
dius's histories,  14,  177. 

Pliny  the  Younger,  allusions  to 
Claudius,  10,  14,  19. 

Plutus,  201. 

podagricus,  230. 

poetae,  vosque,  227, 

Polybius,  234. 
Vid.  Consolatio. 

Pompeius     Magnus,    214,    218, 
236. 

Pompeius,  Pedo,  236. 

portentum  (hominis),  215,  216. 

postmeridianus  consul,  197. 

praeputium,  69,  189. 

privatis   intra  curia   morantibus, 

195- 
proverbium,  verum,  156. 
proverbs,  67. 
Publilius  Syrus,  23. 
pudet  imperii,  207. 
Pumpkinification,  50,  56. 

quaerito,  157. 
quare,  inquis,  192. 
Quintilian  on  Seneca,  30. 
quo  non  alius,  224. 


254 


INDEX 


Radbertus,    auth.     ViU    Walae, 

85. 

rapa  vorare,  11,  203. 

recipio,  tibi,  181. 

regem  aut  fatuum  nasci,  etc.,  8, 

156,  215. 
rei  publicae  (respondit),  92,  165. 
Res  Gestae  Divi  Augusti,  206. 
Rhadamanthus,  237,  240. 
Rhenanus,   B.,    editions  of  the 

Apoc,  95,  96. 
scholia,  95  seq.;  and  the  Greek 

quotations,  95,  177;  quoted, 

104. 
pLxj/e  irodbs  rcrayCiv,  etc.,  212. 
Rhodanum,  183,  (185). 
Riese  on  the  authorship  of  the 

Apoc,  25,  49. 
Romae  inquis,  192. 
Romae  reliquerat  ceteros  deos, 

179. 
Roman  comique,  84. 
Romulus  in  heaven,  1 1,  203. 
Rossbach   on   the   Valenciennes 

MS.,  92. 
Rousseau,  99, 100,  155,  243. 
Rufrius  Pollio,  235. 
Ruhkopf,    on     the    ConsoU    ad 

Polyb.,  32. 
Mss.  collated  for,  88  seq, 
his  edition  of  Seneca,  97,  et 
passim, 

Sacram  viam,  220. 

saeculi  felicissimi,  155,  (171). 

salvum  et  felicem  habeam,  159. 

sanctificatio,  i. 

Sangallensis(St.  Gall),  Codex,  55, 

87,  91,  102,  et  passim, 
Sardi  Venales^  79,  81  seq* 
satire,  origin  of,  58. 


Saturnalia,  190,  223. 
Saturnalicius,  70,  190, 
Saturninus  Lusius,  236. 
Saturnus,  191. 

Sauromatas  et  si  qui,  etc.,  167. 
Scarron,  Paul,  84. 
Scheffer,  57,  97,  loi,  etc. 
Schmitz  on  the  Apoc.^  24. 
Schusler,  edition  of  the  ApoCy 

98,  etc. 
scis,  158. 
scitis,  173. 
Scribonia,  214. 
securis,  Romanae,  226. 
sellas,  237. 

senatores,  occisos,  238. 
Seneca,  and  his  pupil,  1,18, 28, 37. 
grudge  against  Claudius,  2,  28, 

156,  (210). 
and  Roman  citizenship,  26, 41, 

42. 
inconsistencies,  27,  33,  34,  35, 

41. 
canonized,  27,  86. 
his  philosophy,  29  seq, 
the  humorist,  42,  64. 
sententiam  dicere  nee  disputare, 

195. 
sententiam,  interrogatur,  197. 
sententiam  vincere,  204, 
servum  me  ducat,  216. 
Shakespeare,    Richard  III,  85, 

164,  232. 
sicariis,  237. 
Silanus,  Appius,  210,  213,  217, 

236. 
Silanus,  L.  Junius,  40,41, 191, 192, 

193,  194,210,  213,218,  236. 
Silanus,  M.  Junius,  210,  213. 
Silius,  C,  232,  233. 
simile,  tarn,  quam,  218. 


INDEX 


255 


sine  fine  et  effectu,  243. 

Sisyphus,  241,  244. 

2/cta/Aax^a,  53. 

slang,  70. 

socer,  213,  217,  236. 

socrus,  236. 

Sol,  171. 

Somnium    of    Lipsius,    79    seq,j 

177,  196. 
Sonntag,  edition  of  the  Apoc,  97. 
sorer  mea  [Graece]  nescit,  208, 

209. 
sororem,  festivissimam,  192. 
Southey,  Vision  of  Judgment,  84. 
spem,  alicuius  cupiditatis,  242. 
Stahr,  Agrippina,  100. 

on  the  authorship  of  the  Apoc,^ 

25»  Z1^  47»  49. 
stercoris  exhausi,  plus,  188. 
Stoic  god,  189. 
stulte,  stude,  70,  192. 
subscriptionem,  238. 
sufflaminandam,  rotam,  242. 
Suillius,  28,  210. 
summam,  ad,  216. 
Super stitionesy  Seneca,  contra,  20, 

44,  232. 
surrexit,  205. 
Sylvanus,    C,    editor    of    editio 

prin.,  92,  94,  95. 

tabella,  recitavit  ex,  217. 
Tacitus,  on  Claudius'  funeral,  I. 

on  Seneca,  30. 
Talthybius  deorum,  227. 
Tantalum,  241. 
Tectam,  viam,  228. 
tempora  somni,  160. 
tenebris,  in,  231. 
Terentum,  228. 
tergemini  regis,  185. 


TertuUian,  20. 

Tiberim,  228. 

Tiberius,  funeral  of,  158. 

epigram  on,  169. 

gift  to  Claudius,  190. 
Tiburi  for  tibi,  102,  186. 
t£s  irbdev,  etc.,  96,  1 76. 
Tithoni,  169. 
togatos,  168. 
tragic  us  fit,  184. 

translations  of  the  Apoc,^  99  seq* 
Traulus,  233. 
tria  verba  cito  dicat,  2l6. 
TpiKdpavos,  61. 
Tpio5lTr}s  TpiTTi/Xios,  53. 
Tristionias,  215. 
Trogus,  233. 
turpius  est,  9,  13. 
Tyrrell,  on  Roman  use  of  Greek, 
8,63. 

ut  qui  .  .  .  timuerit,  175. 

vacationem,  rerum  iudicandarum, 

218. 
vae  me,  71,  173. 
vafer,  197;  vafro,  179. 
Valenciennensis,  Codex,  87,  91, 

92,  102,  et  passim, 
valentem,  virum,  i86, 
Valerius  Antias,  21. 
vapulare,  69,  201,  245. 
Varro,  scepticism  of,  20,  21. 

titles  of  his  satires,  53,  61,  79. 

definition  of  satura,  58  note. 

imitation    of    Menippus,    59, 
60. 

imitated  by  Seneca,  60-62,  74, 

75- 
by  Martianus  Capella,  79. 
quoted  in  heaven,  63,  75,  189. 


256 


INDEX 


Vatican  Mss.  of  the  Apoc,^  90. 
Vavasseur,  De  Ludicra  Dictione, 

78. 
velit,  nolit,  158. 
Venerem,  192. 
Verdaro,  on  the  Apoc.^  21. 

his  translation,  loi. 
Vergil,  quoted,  158,  166. 
Vespasian,  last  words  of,  38. 
veteribus,  242. 
Vettius  Valens,  233. 
Vica  Pota,  201, 
Vienna,  181. 


vindemitor,  1 61. 
Vision  of  Judgment,  84,  85. 
Vitellius,  40,  41,  165,  211. 
vivere    videri,     desiit,     17,    69, 

173- 
Vulcan,  212. 

Walae,  Vita,  85,  1 59. 
Weissenburgensis,     Codex,     91, 

96. 
Wolfenbuttel  MS.,  88. 

Xanthum,  183. 


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